Those who have anything approaching a healthy level of sanity are an ever-decreasing minority in Ireland, as is the case in most countries. Colonised minds constantly distracted by trivia who blindly accept the logic of our neo-liberal hell. And an increasing amount of people who reject that consensus are quick to blame immigrants or the latest catch-all phoney culture war term imported from the US ('wokeism').
I just learnt that the inimitable Clare Daly @ClareDalyMEP was not reelected to the European Parliament. It's a disappointment--but NOT a defeat. In fact, each "defeat" is a necessary stepping-stone on the road to victory:
"What does the entire history of socialism and of all modern revolutions show us? The first spark of class struggle in Europe, the revolt of the silk weavers in Lyon in 1831, ended with a heavy defeat; the Chartist movement in Britain ended in defeat; the uprising of the Parisian proletariat in the June days of 1848 ended with a crushing defeat; and the Paris commune ended with a terrible defeat. The whole road of socialism – so far as revolutionary struggles are concerned – is paved with nothing but thunderous defeats. Yet, at the same time, history marches inexorably, step by step, toward final victory! Where would we be today without those “defeats,” from which we draw historical experience, understanding, power and idealism? Today, as we advance into the final battle of the proletarian class war, we stand on the foundation of those very defeats; and we cannot do without any of them, because each one contributes to our strength and understanding." (Rosa Luxemburg, "Order Reigns in Berlin")