Ireland Falls for a Lousy T-Shirt

The Irish commemorate Che Guevara on a special stamp.

Education often means relearning old lessons, which means fighting for historical fact against political mythologists. That’s especially true these days as millennials indulge a romantic view of socialism having never having seen its consequences. So it’s excruciating to see the nation of Ireland, a capitalist democracy that should know better, fall for the myth of Ernesto “Che” Guevara Lynch.

On Friday the Irish post office released a special stamp to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Guevara, who became Fidel Castro’s right-hand man. The stamp features a black, white and red drawing of the Argentine-born medic and is accompanied by an envelope with a quote from Che’s father: “in my son’s veins flowed the blood of Irish rebels.”

We can understand how untutored Dublin undergrads might wear one of those T-shirts with Che’s face for social cachet in coffee shops. But on an Irish national stamp?

The struggle for Irish independence was about equality under the law, property rights and political self-determination. Guevara represents none of that.

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