It’s our money that pays for the visit and weapons

This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper.

Michael Commane

The state visit of President Donald Trump to our neighbouring island last week was a spectacle to behold. Watching some of the television coverage of the banquet in Windsor Castle I could not believe the length of the dining table where the great and mighty were sitting.

Early estimates of Trump’s visit suggest it cost €8 million. It’s said it will bring in billions for the UK economy. And of course Trump loved every minute of it.

How much did it cost to ferry him, Melania and the gigantic entourage across the Atlantic to eat soup in Windsor Castle and at Chequers?

Rumour has it that Vladimir Putin is the wealthiest man in the world. What must be the wealth of XI Jinping, the Chinese leader and then all the sheiks in the Middle East?

It seems the world is awash with money, at least for the rich and powerful.

But isn’t it all absurd and what’s even more absurd is how we accept the absurdity.

Think of the money that is spent on armaments every year. Last year the world spent €2.7 trillion on weapons. One B2 Spirit bomber costs over €1.7 billion. One F-111 US fighter jet costs a mere €15.33 million. Remember all the fuss whether or not the West should give them to Ukraine. That sort of money is beyond my understanding.

But what’s not beyond my understanding is the crass poverty of over a billion people in the world. And what is also not beyond my understanding, is that every cent spent on State dinners and every cent spent on armaments comes from the pockets of the taxpayer, you and me, and from people far poorer than we.

Nothing is simple, everything in our lives is nuanced and there are so many sides to every story, it would be only a fool who thinks that everything is black and white. But right now our world seems to be heading towards some sort of cataclysmic moment; there is some sort of rush for the rich to get richer, companies to get bigger and bigger, countries to develop faster and better weapons of war. And then there’s AI. How is it going to stop, who can stop it?

Maybe by nature I’m a pessimist and see the glass half empty rather than half full.

Where are the churches in all this confusion and bedlam?

There is a wave of right-wing Christian fundamentalism developing in America that is saying horrific things. People believe Trump is a man sent by God, that it was God who saved him against the assassination attempt.

Last week the cardinal archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan compared Charlie Kirk with St Paul. Is the cardinal aware of some of the vile words spoken by Kirk?

New Pope Leo seems to be a wise and good man; he has spoken about the importance of peace and cooperation.

I’m back thinking of the meal at Windsor and the savagery being unleashed on the people of Gaza and Ukraine; Trump a herald sent from God. 

And every cent of the wealth comes from our pockets. Why do we let them do it? Strange times indeed. The sad thing is, we always do.