History, morality and judgement.

So, Martin McGuinness, the recently retired Irish Deputy First minister, has passed away.

Some of my readers may know I spent some time in uniform. My time was mostly after the major PIRA years, although I caught the tale end as it were.

My Mother however, was out in Northern Ireland when it wasn't all that nice. Just 19 yrs old and married to a British soldier. I didn't come along until she was 23, the next posting, and out in Cyprus.

The passing of such a controversial figure as McGuinness put me in mind of the passing of Margaret Thatcher, since many might have had cause to celebrate the death of such a man, as they did our former premier, for very different reasons. Indeed some of my longer serving army colleagues certainly did have some opinions.

A moral dilemma if ever there was one.

On the one hand McGuinness was an outlaw, murderer and responsible for immense suffering.
On the other he was one of the first people with the drive and crucially sufficient clout in the PIRA to bring about the peace process we now have.

Who the man was perceived to be, and peoples subsequent opinions of him, are shaped not just by what he did, but when he did it in relation to our own lives. There are people alive today in Ireland who wont remember the troubles, and thus remember "that bloke on the telly" as one politician amongst many. My own daughter is 13, and thankfully has no concept of living under such conditions. Similarly there are also those who for very intense personal reasons cannot forget those troubles and see McGuinness in a very different light.

Consider the first and second world wars, or other engagements that the British armed forces have been involved with over the years, many of which don't actually have the title or status of "war" but nonetheless lead to death and suffering. When we remember these distant and long ago battles, we often remember those who fought, however justly or unjustly, and died on both sides of the given conflict. Spitfire or Messcherschmidt ace, British or German, free french or Vichy,, military or civilian alike.

I can only speak for myself on these occasions, but the overriding emotion is one - perhaps - not of pride, but of regret. Regret for man's continuing capacity for inhumanity to his fellow man, and that we seemingly rarely learn the lessons inherent.

I wonder with, the Irish "Troubles" is the grief, anger and resentment at all that was done, on both side of the issue, still too near? To close to living memory?

Those that have lived through armed conflict or seen its impact first hand, up close, know the cost. Some front line troops much, much much more than others, including I have to say, myself. As I once said to an officer many years ago, I was there to patch up the holes other regiments made, thus my view was less dramatic than others. However the cost is not one borne exclusively by those in any given uniform, rather it is paid by all who fight for what they believe to be right and just, how so ever they may choose to "do" and "believe".

To slightly miss quote Protagoras, one of the greek Sophists who was around way back in circa 450BC

"A man is the measure of all things"

History then will Judge the actions of the man, For I find that oddly, I cannot. But I am reminded of an article I read recently about Joe Biden, where he gave an insight into how he deals with extremely divisive, sometime downright discriminatory policy in US politics.

"Question a man's judgement, never his motives"

McGuinness' motives might not have changed all that much, but his judgement sure did and for that I am, and I'm sure in time many others may eventually be able to be, thankful. 

For all the 3,600. 

S