Exploring Northern Ireland

Camera: Apple iPhone X
Exposure: 1/1548
Aperture: f/2.4
Focal Length: 52mm equivalent
ISO: 16

My friend Michael Redmond and I met up in Belfast on Sunday to buy a Sunday rail ticket and explore some of Northern Ireland by train and by foot, getting off at a couple of stops in Coleraine and Derry to explore the countryside, make a stop at Mussenden Temple, and then walk around Derry proper, ground zero for The Troubles.

While the Peace Accords were signed with the Good Friday Agreement, there is still evidence of tension through the songs heard in pubs, the graffiti and in the comments of people. Northern Ireland is a case study in how families, societies and economies are damaged by political divides. Reflecting on this with what is going on in America right now seems like it is hitting close to home.

The last couple of years have seen political unrest in America, and I’ve been thinking about the implications for society as Americans have been driven to polar opposite positions that are increasingly solidified. We have a president now who is working, and even delights in creating conflict which is so grossly offensive, I have a tough time not becoming politically militant. Because Northern Ireland during The Troubles is precisely where this sort of rhetoric goes, creating unstable societies. Unstable societies take lives, create divisions in families and absolutely destroy economies. This is not a path I want to see happen in America, and we *must* fight with every fiber of our being to prevent the rot of conflict from taking apart all that we have built in America.