My parents took me to this rally and we stood pretty close to the speakers platform. Over 100,000 others were there. It was a mass protest in defiance of what was perceived to be undemocratic UK government policy, opposing what the Thatcher government had done. 1985 was a great example of "liberty before loyalty" - and through which the convenient Northern Ireland current affairs shorthand of "loyalist" is shown to make no sense. A nation can have an anti-democratic Prime Minister, Monarch, Taoiseach, President, Vice President - whatever high office title, and in whatever nation. Shorn of liberty, nationality is merely a cosmetic label.
A choice between an undemocratic UK and an undemocratic Republic of Ireland is no choice at all. It's merely a choice between United and City, you can choose whether to have red shirts or blue shirts, but you're still playing the same game.
However, what if you object to the game itself? Defining yourself by who rules you, and how they rule you, is madness. As with 1776 in America, it is community and personal liberty which should always be the criteria.
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