The Awaken Ireland group has organised a series of “open space” discussions, which have covered many topics, but most interesting to us has been the broad question of democracy and empowerment.

The 4th session of this discussion takes place at the Imperial Hotel in Cork on Monday 3rd September.

The following comment by Diarmaid Ó Cadhla considers that the discussion needs to conclude on something ….

This series of discussions have been excellent and very well organised, now it needs to draw conclusions….

I have attended to make my contribution to the discussion on what I believe is the most urgent and important task facing Irish people today – our own Empowerment.

By Empowerment I am trying to emphasise something more than an individualistic or personal empowerment – such is IMPOSSIBLE in a society that is itself enslaved.

There is no individual freedom in an oppressed society.

For individuals to reach their full potential, to realise all of our dearest wishes we must first throw off our oppressors, native and foreign. To have individual freedom we need to liberate our state from domination by the narrow vested interests who rule over us.

There are many theories about ‘individual sovereignty’ and an individual’s right to reject an unjust society – do such ideas empower us? Does ‘individual sovereignty’ as a concept perpetuate our enslavement? Does it disarm the people by diminishing the role and importance of the state?

I think such theories deny the need for citizens of the state to contest for political power, and unless we win political power we will not be liberated and there will be no individual freedom.

So, let us contest for political power in our own state. Let’s make this the factor which underlines all of the individual struggles we take up … be that the bondholder issue, the household tax, mortgage or banking issues, unemployment, emigration, health etc.

It is expected that The Peoples Convention will be extending it’s programme in the coming weeks and focusing work in the local electoral areas.  The work is bringing these ideas of democracy and empowerment to the people for whom it matters – our neighbors and our own community.