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| American politician Paul Ryan often talks about the hardship faced by his impoverished Irish ancestors, but writer Timothy Egan says that Ryan neglects and demeans today's lower classes. |
St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, and as usual, everyone is celebrating Irish heritage, even if they don't have a drop of green blood in their veins. One of those proud Irish-Americans is Paul Ryan, a Republican politician who is best known for running for Vice President in the 2012 election. While usually no one would bat an eye at his antics, writer Timothy Egan fiercely condemns him in his New York Times essay "Paul Ryan's Irish Amnesia". Egan claims that Ryan, who does not support programs that help the lower classes, has turned his back on his Irish heritage and now acts like the aristocratic British did during the horrible Irish potato famine. He successfully argues this stance by comparing quotes from Ryan and British officials and by inciting readers' passion with his heated tone.
To prove that Ryan has forgotten the suffering of his ancestors, Egan compares the British refusing to send food to the Irish to Ryan refusing to support programs that benefit the poor and working poor. Egan does this by using quotes. For instance, he quotes Sir Charles Trevelyan, the Englishman in charge of "helping the Irish": "'Dependence on charity is not to be made an agreeable mode of life". Over a century and a half later, Ryan stated, "We have this tailspin of culture... just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and culture of work." Egan argues that the similarity between the two statements is quite clear, as is Ryan's role in this class conflict: he, like nineteenth-century Englanders did, believes that the poor are lazy and that their hardship is their own fault.
Another interesting feature of Egan's piece is how furious he feels about the subject. When criticizing Ryan's views on helping the poor, he describes him as having "a head still stuffed with college-boy mush from Ayn Rand" and called his statements about the poor "heartless remarks". Later, Egan calls an untrue story Ryan told about a boy who wouldn't accept his free school lunch "garbage". Egan's tone makes it quite clear to readers how he feels about both Ryan's political views and his ignoring of his heritage. It also makes readers more interested in the article: it is much more entertaining to read something written by a person who is passionate about the topic, rather than by someone who does not care.
Another interesting feature of Egan's piece is how furious he feels about the subject. When criticizing Ryan's views on helping the poor, he describes him as having "a head still stuffed with college-boy mush from Ayn Rand" and called his statements about the poor "heartless remarks". Later, Egan calls an untrue story Ryan told about a boy who wouldn't accept his free school lunch "garbage". Egan's tone makes it quite clear to readers how he feels about both Ryan's political views and his ignoring of his heritage. It also makes readers more interested in the article: it is much more entertaining to read something written by a person who is passionate about the topic, rather than by someone who does not care.
Article link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/paul-ryans-irish-amnesia.html?_r=0
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