Two major news stories this week evoke two entirely different reactions; one inspiring optimism and even pride in the human spirit and the prevailing ideals of common humanity, the other provoking only disgust and lamentation of the lingering sicknesses of the human being and the idiot rabble.

The latter is presently unfolding in Northern Ireland, the former in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Scenes of Romanian settlers being burnt out of their homes en masse in Northern Ireland were enough to turn the stomach and sicken the spirit. You had to wonder if you were watching something from the Middle Ages, or from nineteen thirties Germany. It was one of the most disgusting indictments of a modern society to be witnessed in modern times. But this was not Iraq, or Zimbabwe, or Burma; this was in the British Isles. A putrid warning that racism and extreme xenophobia is alive and well in Britain in the twenty-first century, and that large masses of people are still more than capable enough of de-evolving into peasant-headed villagers trying to burn witches.

One would fervently hope nothing of the sort would ever happen in England; and I maintain – even in spite of the results of the European elections last week and its implications – that nothing of the sort ever will. But when one sees scenes like that, one wonders. And one wonders, further, how much we really have evolved. The real danger is not the uneducated viewpoints of individual people, but the effects of mass hysteria involving large groups of people, egging each other on and feeding off each other’s zeal. The history of fascism in Europe and generally of mass hysterias throughout history suggests a root in relatively small-scale and perfectly ‘reasonable’ xenophobic attitudes; attitudes that are easy to glibly justify, leading to behaviour that far exceeds any justification.

The image of so many people, including women holding babies, being forced off their land like cattle, really does provoke. Once the vaguely ludicrous Python-esque connotations fade away (and they fade quickly), the mind tends to drift towards scenes from Kosovo or from Bosnia in the nineties, or even of Jewish communities in Europe in the forties. It’s a harrowing, upsetting state of affairs.

Perhaps in the future Northern Ireland will seal its borders and keep out all the terrible foreigners. In a worst case scenario, if presently xenophobically-inclined elements of British society take their democratic power further in the future, Britain as a whole will move towards doing the same. And, perhaps, in a world that once looked like it was coming closer and closer together into a global community, the reverse will come to pass. What a wonderful world that would be. A world of closed borders and self-enclosed countries and societies, in which people can’t seek new lives in greener pastures, can’t better themselves, and can’t seek asylum from persecution or hardship in liberal, friendly countries, because no such countries will exist.

As gloomy and damning as all of this has been, a relative ray of light has briefly shone out amid the dimness in Iran. The dramatic fallout from the Iranian elections – rigged or not – has acted as a testament to the passion of the Iranian people and the politicisation of the Iranian youth, who took to the streets in their thousands. Their passion and convictions are an inspiration to idle and fallow populations everywhere, particularly given how dangerous such behaviour can be in that country, and a monument to a universal thirst for liberty.

In a week that has seen mobs taking to action for the sake of humanity’s baser instincts of racism and pitiless xenophobia in one part of the world, we have also seen a zealous mass taking to action for the sake of humanity’s higher instincts for freedom and liberty, and for civilised and enlightened government.

It’s just a shame that it won’t have made the slightest bit of difference to the election result or to Iranian politics, at least not in the foreseeable future. But, in the long term, perhaps it is a potent sign that Iran’s future may be reclaimed by a generation of forward-thinking, modernising, non-fundamentalist youth with no apetite for the Ayatollah-led, Israel-hating, West-provoking politics that has characterised the Islamic Republic for so long.

Seventy percent of Iran’s population wasn’t alive when the Shah was overthrown. A fading generation of intemperate fundamentalists will only be able to propagate its policies via the amenability of the rising generation. Without that support mechanism, the system will collapse deservedly, and a new day might dawn under the Persian sun. The protests this passed week were an optimistic appraisal and promise for the future, if not for the circumstances of the moment.

Criticism of the Iranian authorities’ response to the demonstrations, valid as it is, has been notably muted in some quarters. And there’s been little or no comment concerning the validity or alleged invalidity of the election result. If Ahmedinijad isn’t the legitimate winner of the election, he might take heart in the success and longeivity of other illegitimate leaders elsewhere in the world, of which there are more than a few. Al Gore’s usurping opponent of 2001 springs to mind. But there are plenty of others, whether dictatorial or ‘democratically’ elected. Our own nation is led by an unelected Prime Minister, albeit under a very different set of circumstances.

In regards to Iran, one can only watch and hope that power sooner rather than later comes into the hands of those who deserve their time.

Given resemblances to the public unrest and dissatisfaction that led to the revoultion thirty years ago, this situation may end up as a reminder of the cyclical nature of history and politics, possibly even resulting in a new revolutionary climate (though, we’d hope, one not nearly as bloody). History does seem to repeat itself, or perhaps more accurately recycle itself over certain phases of time, which would make the more philosophically inclined wonder if there’s some programme written into the fabric of destiny that perpetuates it. The Iranian situation is a positive example of that impetus at work; but situations elsewhere in the world, and even in these British Isles, may represent the negative side.

In any case, it’s been a grim couple of months in the UK, as far as political and social implications are concerned. Let’s hope things can pick up in the other direction for a while…