This Thought's On Me

From "Right Wing, Wrong Man For Irish Airwaves": As a stay-at-home suburban dad, I encounter few enough opportunities, on a daily basis, for international celebrity. But thanks to President Bush and his neo-con cronies, who’ve decided that invading Iraq constitutes a first tentative step towards world peace, I very nearly became the Rush Limbaugh of Ireland. Here’s how my meteoric rise as a media superstar almost happened: I was sitting at home in front of my computer one morning recently, fiddling innocently with some correspondence. The radio played in the background. To my surprise, an offhand quip I’d dispatched via e-mail to a popular current affairs program was read over the air. Steve Coronella from Shankill writes to say…That kind of thing. I gave in to a self-satisfied smile. You see, I spend a lot of time at home, looking after my young son while trying to write the Next Big Book to come out of Ireland. Sending up flares like this every now and again helps to keep me in touch with the outside world. A short time later, though, the plot thickened. On the way to collect my son from playschool, I stopped by a local convenience store to buy the Irish Times. On the editorial page was a letter I’d written, which criticized the peculiar brand of neutrality practiced in Ireland. In the letter I identified myself as an American who held dual citizenship. This, I felt, allowed me to comment on the domestic policies of my adopted home. Again, I allowed myself a small degree of satisfaction that my thoughts were deemed worthy for general distribution. I brought my son home, we had lunch, and then I remembered to check for any phone messages. There was indeed one, from the producer of a Sunday night TV discussion program. She’d read my letter in the Irish Times, and was wondering if I might ring her back for a brief chat. Indeed. Another of my little flares had not only drawn some attention, it had been traced back to me. With my son settled quietly in front of a video (President Bush would be delighted to learn that he’s into the Justice League at the moment), I phoned Roisin Boyd in her office at RTE, Ireland’s national broadcaster. Ms. Boyd thanked me for returning her call and mentioned my letter again. Then she got down to business. Did I consider the protests taking place over US troops using Shannon Airport on their way to the Gulf anti-American? she asked. And was I pro-war?...