Brian Lenihan Is Going To Die

And you're going to die, and I'm going to die... We are all going to die! I find it amusing, the amount of people wishing for the "death of Brian [Lenihan]". They speak as if death isn't guaranteed within this universe. Death is our only constant. Oh I know the old Benjamin Franklin adage includes "taxes" in that mix, but since we are considering the mortality of a governmental minister responsible for the affairs of an economy, I thought it best to avoid the irony.

The genesis of this post happened upon hearing that a Facebook profile was set up (and long since removed), with a motto along the lines of "I hope Brian Lenihan dies!". Of course if it were just that I may have just laughed off the silliness of such a statement, but no, they had an interesting appendage to this little ditty: "and I hope he has a slow painful death!" Well! Them's fighin' words! This too however highlights something which many fail to contemplate, and that is: no matter what your belief system about what comes after death; whether you believe in a supernatural after-life or infinite nothing, it is for certain that what comes before it is forgotten and voided. Any pain or suffering is washed away in the ever increasing river of history, and has removed itself from your context. So you see, death, even a painful death holds no water in what comes after it. If one really wanted to inflict insult on someone in the form of wishful thinking, they would be better off wishing them a long and painful "life" instead.

Whatever one might think of the man, or Fianna Fáil, I firmly believe that Brian Lenihan should be running the country while Fianna Fáil are in power. Brian Cowen has been a disaster, and Lenihan has at least shown some leadership and the ability to speak without slurring his words. The interviews he gave last week showed a man putting on a brave face. It was clearly evident that he was trying too hard to appear upbeat about his illness. There will always begrudgers no matter how he came across. Too pitiful and they would accuse him of looking for sympathy, too positive and he's either really not that ill, or just desperately seeking to stay in power at any cost.

There is something we must acknowledge though. Obviously when people say "I hope they die!" they mean it in the near future. Historically speaking, the death of governmental leader has often heralded a great change in the political and/or economical status of a country. Take for example the death of Nicolae Ceauşescu in Romania, which cascaded through to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Very little however would be gained from the imminent death of Brian Lenihan. NAMA is already through and any new government made from the current political livestock would not be able to drastically change the state Ireland now finds itself in. The only way we could have a political revolution is if Al-Qaeda decided to blow up the Dáil and everyone in it. I do however think that a lot would be gained, for the national morale at least, from the execution of Bertie Ahern. I think hearing that a citizen has taken it unto themselves to slay the "great corrupter" would spur a lot of Irish people onto greater things.

I know you're asking if the title of this post a cheap shot to get readership, and perhaps it was, but just for this post alone, as I think a lot of people need to read more about human mortality. Was the doctored image of Brian Lenihan depicting his cadaver created as a form of insult? Absolutely not! If it has caused upset, good! Life is short, value it! I think about death on a regular basis. Not in a neurotic way or anything, I like to ponder it, the same as a priest may ponder the mysteries of his faith. The truth about death and indeed the meaning of life, will only be revealed at that moment of passing, and in that sense, perhaps it's something to look forward to when the end is approaching without fail.

A fragment of a poem I wrote last year, it seems to finish this well..

Death, the eventual leveler,
Will in turn,
Humble us all.
Those found unequal in life,
Will become universal in death.