President Higgins nails the #1 virtue of the Irish people in his Christmas message:

“We are, for example, a country with a network of communities, that are increasingly active in responding to their own, and their society’s, difficulties.”

Unfortunately, it’s also the thing that enables successive governments to get away with inefficiency, lax regulation, and poor policies: the people will take care of other people, both at home and abroad. Still, it’s a virtue seeming to grow scarce in this world and should be celebrated.

Link: President issues Christmas message – The Irish Times – Sun, Dec 16, 2012.