Land of the Free?

Unionists sometimes try to justify their attachment to Britain by claiming that it is a country that values and cherished freedom. Their orange alter ego claims that "the Orange Order ... opposes tyranny and despotism in Church and State".

No doubt, then, they will be horrified to learn that the Press Freedom Index 2009, published by the freedom-of-the-press campaigning organisation Reporters Without Borders puts the UK at only number 20 worldwide. Better than Ghana and Mali, of course, but worse than Latvia, Malta, Lithuania and, in joint first place, Ireland.


What's that, you may ask? The Papal Tyranny itself - joint first place for press freedom with the Scandinavian countries Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden! Was the Glorious Revolution for nothing? Have we been wrong all along?

Needless to say, of course, no such thoughts will occur to most unionists. Because 'freedom' is only an excuse, just like the supposed benefits of the UK's faltering economy, or the supposed superiority of the NHS, or the supposed development of the UK. Unionists deliberately ignore the mounting body of evidence that shows that they made a bad choice. Poorer, less free, worse educated, isolated in Europe - welcome to the UK!

The continued opposition by unionists to reunification, or even closer cooperation with the south, shows that they do not value development or freedom. They appear to be motivated only by irrational prejudice. Their defeat is essential to allow all Irish people to enjoy the benefits of a modern democratic state.