There is something about being stuck in the middle that has given it a bad press. People are lauded for having strong opinions, being committed to one thing or another, being passionate about this and that. The middle class is almost invisible, being seen as sort of mwaah, nothingy, blah. Countries that are neutral are a bit wussy. Men who don’t “have” a football team are seen as lacking something, women who make traybakes are nice. Nice is itself a blah word.
But what if that is all nonsense.
Mostly I see people that have not taken the time or made the effort to arrive at their “position”. They are parented or peer grouped into their opinions, at an early age, then spend the rest of their life thinking that it is intellectual to justify the prejudices and positions that they have held for ever.
It is the demise of the individual, being allocated an opinion from birth. Look at our politics. On just about every issue you and I will know what every politician is going to say, and within parties they are interchangeable. Gerry and Michelle will give the same answer to the question, now over to Jeffrey and Edwin, who will regurgitate the answer that you already knew was coming. How? Because they are totally rigid in their thinking, totally lacking in any individuality, and live in fear of saying something fresh.
It is not their fault, it is ours. We are ready with the keyboard to condemn anyone who steps out of the political line and for the really regimented, using their vote to ensure that the politicians never, ever take a risk. Imagine if Edwin Poots came out and said, “Actually, when you think about it, it would be really Christian to let gay men and women marry.” Wtf? Or Gerry Kelly were to say, “The NHS is something to cherish and has made being in Northern Ireland better for us.” Uproar. No way are they allowed to think for themselves.
An interesting experiment for you the next time you are watching sport and you are a supporter of a team or a player. Pay attention to how you respond to the action. How different you are when one of yours fouls an opponent, versus your player being brought down. The way you shout “Penalty” when one of yours trips up with no one in the vacinity, but “No way!!!” when your centre half clatters their centre forward thigh high and he needs six months in hospital. I do it. We all do it. We support our own. All the time.
It is being in the middle that takes real effort.
It takes a lot of thinking, and time to educate yourself on how to decide what is right and wrong, on your own, and not as a knee jerk reaction.
I was lucky, I got into situations where there were people from different social and religious backgrounds. I met people from Ballygomartin at school, and Andersonstown at Queens. A friend group that covers counties and coutries. I have friends from Bellaghy and Sandy Row. I have friends who are, gasp, women. Yes real friends for over 50 years! My wife is from Dublin, and I have had an education through her and her family. It is by striving to be open minded that I have been able to be in the radical middle of the road. Why? Becuase I listened. That’s it. I am a talker and a listener. Listening is the learning bit.
I shout my mouth off, but one moment it can be for the introduction of steep taxes for the wealthy, but the next moment I will be on the side of an entrepreuner that has created hundreds of thousands of jobs. They are both compatable positions if you are in the Radical Middle of the Road. and you accept that there is more than one answer to most questions and you have a think. I argue a position and then, if I realise that I am talking ballox, I change it!
I read the Mail and the Guardian. You know what, sometimes I agree with the Mail, even though it is against my natural instincts. Maybe it is something that will impact on my kids or wife, or I might just forget myself and let my grumpiness dictate what I feel at that moment. But I will listen to different opinions. I am open to change. My son has been invaluable in explaining things to me about accepting that I haven’t a clue how to deal with Trans and gender issues, because I haven’t the experience to think it through, and his generation talk about these things. My daughter tells me I know nothing about how boys and girls date these days. And you know what, she’s right! So I am in the middle and that sometimes means I say, “I don’t know” one of the best things to speak with confidence.
Being in the Radical Middle of the Road in Northern Ireland is all about saying that there is no simple right or wrong. The Union or a United Ireland are simplistic and their promoters mirror each other in their fixation with specific solutions, that always exclude the other team. Just like watching United vs Liverpool there are two totally different sets of opinions, but both sets of supporters really just want to win in the end.
So the next time you hear about something or other in NI/Irish politics it is worthwhile to think about the other side. You don’t need to end up with a different opinion, only to realise that because you think something doesn’t necessarily make it right. To make an effort to think outside your own box, for a while, and then see if you come up somewhere completely different than you thought you would.
Here are things that I know for certain. No debate. I am right. Manchester United are the greatest football team in the world. Eric Clapton is better than Hendrix. (Prince is better than both?) Queen are totally overrated. Beatles not Stones. Heinz Beans are without question the only ones worth buying. Borg, better than Mac. Jack, not Tiger. Coke not Pepsi. And those are just for a start.
Until you walk down the Radical Middle of the Road.
Thinking about Things... 
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