Your Country Your Call

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Your Country - Your Call

President Mary McAleese and the Hubby

Our Irish President Mary McAleese, something we have in Ireland that we can be rightfully proud of, along with her husband Martin have launched a sort of competition / idea factory to help stimulate ideas that could help get Ireland back on its fiscal and psychological feet.

I believe the effort is mainly the idea of Dr. Martin McAleese who has the backing of a wide range of companies and individuals.

The Logo

Here is the link to the web site; http://www.yourcountryyourcall.com/



A few initial thoughts on the proposal:

1. I don't know if a "Competition" is the best format for generating "Co-operative" efforts - they are two completely conflicting strategies.

2. What is most needed IMHO is community based growth which is soundly based on the principles of co-operation and reciprocity. These principles, however, have been effectively smothered recently in Ireland by the "Celtic Tiger" with a greedy get-rich-quick hard nosed society in the ascendant.

3. If this "Competition" aims to stimulate and encourage growth, that means encouraging the lazy ones and somewhat holding back the ego driven raging bulls who would aim to take over the show.

4. I guess to some extent the last point is going to be somewhat self-limiting within the "rules" of the "Competition" - which state that the ideas become the intellectual property of the "Competition Organisers" That would tend to eliminate the real ego heads and the "out for a quick buck" merchants. They are not going to give away anything are they?

5. Ideas - ideas, I have a dozen ideas I could enter. If I and thousands like me all enter our "brilliant" ideas, the "competition" organisers will be swamped.

6. That I have ideas is for sure, that I am prepared to drop my life and promote and advance these ideas - not so sure at all at all!! How many others would be of the same thinking? So is there structure planned that can take up and advance the good ideas.

7. There can be only TWO winners - does that mean the rest are losers, who's ideas will end up in the bin?

8. "Spirit of Ireland" was quite a bright idea, but it seems to have gotten bogged down in professional egos, conflicting expert opinions, poor organisational strategy, and lack of public awareness and support. Will "Your Country Your Call" end up in a similar position?

Sorry if I tend to sound critical and negative - I am not, it is just the way I think!

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