The luck of Irish

How did this phrase ever get started?  As far as history is concerned I don’t think the Irish have been that lucky at all.  What has really kept them going is the attitude of the Irish.  Yes, the legend has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland and maybe that was lucky, but really plenty of places have survived with lots of snakes, and they eat rodents which for my money is a worse problem.

The thing I like best about St. Patrick’s Day is it’s inclusive and happy nature.  Today everyone is welcome as Irish, even their enemies.  When I was a senior in boarding school a bunch of my friends and I went to NYC and crashed marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  It was a fairly lax situation and our band of girls all with green Fair Isle sweaters on carrying a homemade banner had no trouble just butting in between a real honest to god marching band and a battalion of Irish Policemen.  The attitude was the more the merrier.

I wish that everyday were like St. Patrick’s Day where regardless of your national heritage you are welcome to celebrate.  Maybe some of the problems of the world would be minimized if the governments or opposition parties would act like they were all Irish and it were St. Patrick’s Day.  Drink a little green beer together and sing a little tear jerky Danny boy, arms draped around each other.  You can’t be mad at each other long in that situation.

The luck of the Irish is that no matter how bad the situation they see the sunny side.  No vicarious suffering for them.  You know what vicarious suffering is?  It’s the moaning that because some ancestor of yours, likely someone you did not even know, suffered some injustice then you too are suffering.  I say stop carrying around that baggage and be Irish.  Perhaps all you really need is a little Irish whiskey to be a little happier.