A richness that is missing

Judging by exit polls from our own General Election and the US Presidential Election, immigration wasn’t as much of a concern to the voters as we might have thought from watching the aggro on the streets and in the tweets.

Heart and Soul (BBC World Service, Friday) took a personal and spiritual approach to the topic. Putting aside the ‘political rhetoric’, James Naughtie headed for the Mexican border, US side, to meet with people helping the migrants, people motivated by their Christian faith. Sarah, from a Presbyterian church in Tucson Arizona quoted Matthew 25 – “Whatever you do to one the least…” – to explain her concern and her humanitarian actions. We also heard from Gail of the Tuscon Sarmatians group who made sure there were water supplies for the migrants in the border desert areas. Their interest was in facilitating the asylum application process. They were present when Border Patrol officers arrived to collect migrants for ‘processing’. The latter were kinder and more efficient than heavy handed. Gail used a word that was new to me – bondoogle’ – which means a waste of money or time on something that doesn’t work. That, she said, described the incremental building of a border wall that was so easily breached. She said the 400 billion dollars spent on that could have contributed to a more effective solution to the problem.

Many recent presidents had contributed to the construction, so this was no anti-Trump diatribe. Andy was from the north-east of the USA but felt it was a duty to come south to help the migrants, many of whom were fleeing for their lives from drug cartels and death squads. Of course, the migration issue isn’t simple, but these helpers were just concerned with helping fellow human beings in trouble, practising the hospitality required by their faith.

On the fiction front I’ve been watching two excellent British series. Shetland (BBC One, Wednesday) is a quirky crime drama driven by plot and more importantly character. The scenery is marvellous but the depth in the minor and major characters gives it a richness that is missing in so many crime dramas. The local vicar is presented positively. He is young, modest, socially committed and is the brother of the cynical detective returned from London.

Featuring another rural UK community, Cornwall, Doc Martin (ITV 3, Friday) is on repeat, and I’ve started watching since a recent visit to Port Isaac where it was filmed. Again, it has depth of character across major and minor roles and a good balance between serious and comic moments. It reminds me of Ballykissangel. Unlikely for such a rural community, religious life barely figures.

Meanwhile, our General Election dominated the media last weekend. I’ll leave the detailed analysis to the political commentators, but I’ll offer a few observations. On the plus side it’s great to see our democratic process in action – compared to many other countries we have a relatively healthy system. At my own polling station, I was impressed to see voters arriving on walking sticks, crutches, rollators and wheelchairs – and it was raining! I was glad to see Aontú doubling their vote and their number of seats (albeit 1 seat becoming 2, but passing out the Green Party). There were lots of irritations –candidates speaking of themselves in the third person, politicians telling us how clear they have been, even if they haven’t and over-the-top coverage of the Hutch candidacy, especially the media circus on the Nine O’ Clock News (RTE One, Sunday).

The turnout was disappointing – at 59.71% “the lowest in over a century,” according to RTE. Apart from inaccuracies in the electoral register I’d say many felt it was going to be more of the same regardless. I thought the Electoral Commission did well in encouraging people to register and to vote. In their future work, especially on misinformation and disinformation, it is crucial that they be scrupulously neutral to maintain the confidence of all shades of political opinion.

I enjoyed Ivan Yates political commentary. Last Monday morning on the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk) he pointed out how accurate most of his predictions were, but did mention a few results he didn’t see coming. As for those exit polls, Pat Kenny suggested that they existed mainly to give media folks something to talk about while they waited for the counting to start.
Patience is a poorly practised virtue these days.

Pick of the week

THE SIDEWALK CHRONICLES
EWTN Sunday December 8, 9pm
Documentary about women in crisis pregnancies, and the pro-life movement heroes who reach out to them with love and support.

A VERY COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
BBC 2 Tuesday December 10, 4.15pm
Ellie Harrison and Angellica Bell meet a turkey farmer, visit the town that inspired A Christmas Carol and talk to raucous carollers preparing for Advent in the north of England.

UNREPORTED WORLD
Channel 4 Friday December 13, 7.30pm
Reporter Jordan Jarret-Bryan visits the bright lights of Las Vegas, a city at the forefront of America’s homelessness crisis.