Why does the world go round and round?

ClubMan said:
As opposed to remote areas? .
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Not necessarily. I meant in places where people feel they belong and/or are active participants in the community.

However this is only an interpretation of Lingua's last post and s/he may clarify.
 
Got it PM1234!

Maybe those who have forgotton that these places actually still exist should get away for the weekend.
Might change your thinking.....
 
I meant weekend places in the homeland clubman, wonderful places like where I am living.
And yes, that strong cultural image worldwide is still intact as far as Im aware. Why should it change?
 
Lingua said:
And yes, that strong cultural image worldwide is still intact as far as Im aware.
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Which bit in particular? In my travels no foreigner ever mentioned the stuff that you did when asked about Ireland and the Irish. Just the usual stuff like NI troubles, drinking and U2 (although not many people actually seem to know that they're Irish and I don't like to disabuse them of their ignorance when that's the case).
 
When I respond to the inevitable: "Where you from?"

"You from Iceland?" "Ah, Roy Keane, Man Utd. very good." "Part of England, no?" "Very cold/wet/green."

At least they get the last one right!

(I have to admit to agreeing with them that I'm from Iceland, as it often saves stuttering and long-winded conversations. Not very friendly, but there you go).

My impression is that the "strong cultural image" is confined to western Europe and Anglo-saxon countries.
 
I think it's safe to say: It seems to me that the world seems to be going downhill rapidly. I think in Ireland (today especially) we have less respect for each other & our communities now, than we did years ago. Would you agree?
I know what Lingua means, although i think it applies more to the youth of Ireland as apposed to the Irish in general?
You know, with the "oh my friend has a better phone than me, i must get a new one, just to be accepted by my peers..."

Sort of like - self-conscience teenagers with a hint of an Inferiority Complex.
 
yoganmahew said:
"You from Iceland?"
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Or "Holland" in my experience. On visits to Silicon Valley people still often ask me "how are things in the UK?" and some people seem to have this obsession about us and our assumed (hostile) relationship with the Scots!?!
Sn@kebite said:
I think it's safe to say: It seems to me that the world seems to be going downhill rapidly. I think in Ireland (today especially) we have less respect for each other & our communities now, than we did years ago. Would you agree?
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Not necessarily.
 
ClubMan said:
Not necessarily.
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Again not in a general sense, seeing as i cannot speak for other nations on first hand experience.
But Ireland seems less civilised with the "yob culture". No?
Or maybe you mean certain areas of Irish civilisation are improving while others deteriorate?
ClubMan said:
?!?!
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I agree!! I did a google job too and got even more confused.
 
Personally I don't have any first hand evidence for things generally "going downhill rapidly" as you originally suggested. That's not to say that some people are yobbish while others (the vast majority I would be inclined to say) are not. But was it ever otherwise?
 
Well maybe it's an incorrect assumption of me (you are older than me so maybe you'd know better) but from what i'm told be my elders and see on tv, especially TG4 on those old history programmes, i see an Ireland of hardship in the old days.
You know? In the 40s+ I assume Ireland was poorer than now & harder to aquire SW payments so ppl had to keep looking for work and just didn't have the time to go and smash car windows. Whereas nowadays ppl are better off there's more time on people's hands (especially young people).
I'm not saying Ireland was a better country 40 years ago. It's just that as a result of Ireland become more prosperous, the country is more bored and again i stress the youth seems to give into boredom rather than the older and wiser population.
So what i think Lingue is saying is: the social aspect of our country is changing not necessarily for the worst but the priorities are changing perhaps, in a pointless way. i.e. wondering what we're wearing etc.. Would ppl have worried about clothes then or the more important things like, were am i going to work, howe am i goint tofeed my family etc in the old days?

PS - If you could explain your view of "Not Necessarily" I'd probably understand more. Because that does seem a bit ambiguous.
 
Sn@kebite said:
PS - If you could explain your view of "Not Necessarily" I'd probably understand more. Because that does seem a bit ambiguous.
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I meant that I didn't really agree with this:
I think it's safe to say: It seems to me that the world seems to be going downhill rapidly. I think in Ireland (today especially) we have less respect for each other & our communities now, than we did years ago. Would you agree?
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I don't think it's safe or obvious to say anything of the sort.
 
ClubMan said:
I meant that I didn't really agree with this:

I don't think it's safe or obvious to say anything of the sort.
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hmm... You seem reluctant to expand at all. But it's ok at least i had my view on the topic. Maybe you're just busy.
I established that you don't agree with me, but if you don't want to say why you don't, it's ok.
 
I also don't agree that the country is going downhill.

I remember the seventies. The country was in the toilet then. Much of central Dublin was a no-go area after six o'clock (on the north-side anyway). Everyone knew everyone elses business. Society was defined from the pulpit. To get a dog license you had to pay someone off. Spousal and child abuse were rife.

Having left in the eighties (when the country was still below the rim) and come back in 2000, I was pleasantly surprised by the change in manners and aspirations.

To my mind, the golden age that is harked back to was long gone by the seventies, and 'society' has improved, at the very least in the fact that it is open about it's problems. The youth of today, with a 35 year mortgage to look forward to, get a hard time when compared to the skivers of the seventies/eighties.
 
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Sn@kebite said:
hmm... You seem reluctant to expand at all. But it's ok at least i had my view on the topic. Maybe you're just busy.
I established that you don't agree with me, but if you don't want to say why you don't, it's ok.
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What's there to expand on? I don't agree with you that what you hypothesised above is obvious and see no evidence to support the claim.
 
Thanks yoganmahew that's all i wanted. A simple description of why Ireland hasn't gone downhill. And it makes alot of sense to me now, as i said, my elders woul;d know better than me. But i wanted to know how, so thanks.

yoganmahew said:
I was pleasantly surprised by the change in manners and aspirations.
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Could you just explain this more please? For my own curiosity.

ClubMan said:
What's there to expand on? I don't agree with you that what you hypothesised above is obvious and see no evidence to support the claim.
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OK "obvious" was the wrong word to use. (although i don't remember using it, did I?)
It's more like an opinion i have rather than a theory. (as i wouldn't call it a phenomenon) And if i had evidence to back it up, it would be more like a fact than an opinion.
 
In General I've noticed old people in their 60's/70's etc are negative about nearly everything. Theres a few who arent but... thats been my experience. How old are the people who might compare Ireland as it was in the 1950's/ 60s' etc to how it is now ?
 
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