United We Still Fall

Not that I want to take any wind out of our President's Mission Accomplished sail, but perhaps it's important for us to remember that inflammatory discourse has ignited civil wars all around the globe. 1920's Ireland was one such place. After the British troops were finally thrown out and a provisional treaty was signed between Northern Ireland and England, there were still two very distinct sides that continued to tear the Irish apart - those that viewed the treaty as temporary "freedom to regain more freedom" and those who felt they were just a breath away from complete independence. The Wind That Shakes The Barley is a lengthy, but heartbreaking tale of the beginnings of the Irish Republican Army; young men - brothers, neighbors, friends - who take the same journey but end up on opposite sides of an ideal, unable to find any middle ground. The inimitable Cillian Murphy plays Damien, a gentle young medical student who witnesses the murder of a friend, with Padraic Delaney as his older brother Teddy who begins as a mentor to his younger brother but ends up being a witness to his demise.
Both sides are right; both sides are wrong. It's a familiar song to which we all now know the lyrics. Thanks W.