There’s a thought that’s been rolling through my mind since returning from Northern Ireland and trying to understand the division and conflict that continues to ripple through that land.

“We are not so different.”

The sense is the same if I stand on our soil and look at our many challenges, or stand on their soil and look at their Troubles. In fact, it’s the same if I put a foot in each place and compare the issues.

I’m not certain I should say this out loud, but I’ve started watching Derry Girls since returning, mostly because I heard so many Irish people say they loved it, but also because I miss hearing the accent and I love to see footage of landscapes and intersections where I stood myself just a dozen days ago.

In one scene, a character tried to explain the sectarian violence of Northern Ireland to a Ukrainian visitor by saying, “It’s complicated. You’ve got two different religions at play,” and the Ukrainian visitor replied, “But it’s not really two religions, is it? It’s two flavors of the same religion.”

We are not so different.

The movement toward one Ireland and to eliminate British influence echoed the civil rights movement in the United States in several ways and called on the vision of Dr. King. Protests were met with institutional force. Some people advocated for peaceful resistance while others agitated for armed struggle, frustrated that political change did not move quickly enough.

We are not so different.

A small group of people called for uprise and violence. A dedicated core of others advocated for unity and calm. The vast majority of people in the middle kept their heads down and tried to go about their day-to-day the best they could. Too often, it was those innocent bystanders who were harmed in the process.

We are not so different.

One of my walking tour guides said, “We are moving, but not all at the same speed.” People’s need for and acceptance of change varies. Some feel stretched thin as society shifts quickly. Others lose patience as the wheels turn slowly. It can be difficult to build consensus, and in the process, vested interests create messaging to stir the pot, muddy the water, and vilify the opponent. The landscape gets noisier, more contentious, and more entrenched. In the process, reason gets sidetracked or lost altogether.

We are not so different.

In the middle of it all stand the peacemakers. People who believe, in the face of difficult circumstances, that something better is possible. People who call folks to the table when others walk away. People who are willing to take a step toward others when it would be easy to retreat. There are always the peacemakers and often they are criticized for being dreamers or idealists. Unrealistic or even disloyal. Each side tends to say that the peacemaker is too sympathetic to the other side, but there they stand in the gap, believing that there are solutions. Getting their hands dirty to make it happen.

On the last day of this trip, our group went to a service of healing at the Belfast Cathedral to mourn the losses on both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict. Led by some of the peacemakers and designed to call people together. To recognize the human loss that had resulted and the price that the society as a whole continues to pay. It was a beautiful and thoughtful service that laid bare the pain and suffering, and recommitted to creating healing. Northern Ireland continues to struggle with how to talk about their history and divisions the same way we struggle to talk about ours.

We are not so different.

There are lessons to be learned from their journey and there is something stirring in me. It’s an idea I’ve played with for years, letting it simmer and mature, but now might be the time. I’d like to go back to dig deeper into the stories of Northern Ireland. Not to tell them how to fix their situation, but to walk with them on their journey, to be close to the people who are doing the work, and to listen. To bring back lessons that we can learn from here. 

It would be the first step in a series of international stories that could be important and powerful and might just be on the horizon. To visit Rwanda to understand how they moved through their genocide. South Africa to learn from their dismantling of Apartheid. New Zealand to explore how the Maori people have maintained their identity and found representation in the broader culture. The list is long and there is so much room to learn. None of these processes are perfect but there are lessons in them all.

We are not so different.

Northern Ireland is a logical place to start. I’ve got a little Irish blood in me, so it feels close to my heart. The logistics are easier than some other places. I’ll have to work up to translation and how to navigate that, eventually. I already have some interesting connections on the ground. 

There are some doors that may be opening, based on this latest trip. And when doors open, my habit is to walk through them. This might be the next big step for A Peace of My Mind. Stay tuned.

We are not so different.