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Saturday, March 14, 2009

St. Patrick's Day 2009

As an Irishman, Estase feels it appropriate to share his lessons from the potato famine of 1844-47. No, it isn't that England is inherently evil. Most countries have done things that were shameful. It would be wrong to treat Germans as pariahs for all time because of the Holocaust. People shouldn't hate America because of what happened to American Indians.

The first lesson of the famine is that even something good can be an excuse for a crime. Capitalism and free trade are generally good things, but Britain used them as excuses for a crime.

The second lesson of the famine is that only a fool gives unconditional trust to their government. As with other examples of genocide, the famine shows that, all too often, politicians just don't care when other people die because of their policies.