My yearly Political Rant - Is the government worth the blood that has paid for it in our history?

I spent my Easter in Ireland where they were celebrating the centenary of the 1916 easter rising. I read the Irish proclamation, watched a lot of historical documentaries and talked with family who love their country and were proud of this event.

The history nutt in me was revelling in all this new information.

You see I grew up in a very 'orange' and 'loyalist' home and never actually new anything about the rising apart from . . . well nothing - it was a republic event and antibritish so we couldn't learn about that.

Here's the thing though, when I look at it beside other risings, like that of Sam Adams and George Washington in the American war of Independence, it is essentially the same thing. The people arose against the oppressors (and let's be honest, British history shows that they were oppressors). We watch movies like Braveheart and Patriot and love them . . . Maybe Mel Gibson should act as James Connolly  . . .  Just a thought.

Anyway, where ever you are, be it Ireland, Ulster, England or Scotland etc people bled and died for your nation, for your country. Was the price they paid really worth it for what we have now as our governments?
I really have to ask, was Stormont in its current form with politicians giving themselves 11% rises and claiming ridiculous amounts of expenses while freezing the wages of nurses etc really worth the blood that has been spilt over the years? What of the Irish government or the british? Would those men pay that price again if they could only see what the governments and countries have become?

Anyway, I've tried not to go on my yearly political rant and hopefully its been more rambling thought than angry rant.