Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our time is all the lonely people out there. Our society is dominated by work and business, where people just have no time or very little time to address the virtues which matter most to them or should matter most to them. What people are really going after – love, friendship, family, a healthy, caring, society but they are pushed and shoved into various institutions and moulded into what ‘the system’ wants with its rote and deadening routine. Thousands are ending up on dating agencies. Many say they are “missing something in their lives” but do not know what that is, even though it is as plain as the nose on their faces. Dates are dominated by work and endless circumstantial issues. Hours and hours of talking about their hectic lives. The only thing they can connect to is their work and toil. They know absolutely nothing else. Dating has become a disease for many who live in their own fantasy land, who go through hundreds of strangers looking for inspiration. They are lonely, depressed, on the brink, complaining about work and their lives but cannot see any life outside of work which has become their life. These lonely people are in a desperate condition psychologically and will eventually burn out. They have human needs which cannot be satisfied by money or promotion. Of course many of them have been caught up in the rat-race greed culture. Ongoing dating seems to be a substitute for a real relationship. Serial daters are common as lampposts. However, these people cannot cure their loneliness. They just want a distraction from their jobs which they love to hate. Governments should consider state-run dating agencies that actively seek to pair off people, instead on the tens of thousands who are on-line turning over millions of web pages and dreaming. It is a great tragedy indeed that many people will leave this life never having known love, friendship, or happiness. Some may have great regrets in later life when they realise the loss. They have forsaken friendships and intimacy. Work is now the new religion and if you are not in work you are an atheist – even though you must suffer the alienation and loneliness of what can be years of dubious toil, while no better off down the line than at the beginning of your ‘working’ life. Why should work come first?
If people want to be truly happy, society needs to end the robotic movement and let people be human because that is what they are most good at and which will bring about the most good.
MAURICE FITZGERALD
Shanbally, Co Cork
Teenage plea for MLAs to return to Stormont
We are more than two years without a functioning Northern Ireland Executive. There is no doubt that every single citizen of Northern Ireland is down in the dumps, frustrated, angry, upset, anxious and disappointed. We don’t know what our future will hold, yet there is nobody up on the hill making the decisions. I’m worried about our future. Life is about compromise and this is a call to the individual MLAs who are holding up the decision-making process. We cannot blame the entirety of Stormont. I have personally worked with some of our MLAs who are committed and driven to make a difference in the lives of others. It is not about whether you are DUP, UUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, Alliance or Green Party. Whatever you may be, it is about making a difference in other people’s lives. MLAs, each and every one, have a responsibility to take people through some of their darkest times and shine a light into their lives. You know what, some individuals are running away from key issues within our society. It is not easy. I’m not saying it is easy to compromise but our country, our government, people’s lives are at stake. This is a plea for all of you to go back to work. I have been brought up to do an honest day’s work. I work at the hospital where I clean and if I didn’t turn into work, the hospital area couldn’t function properly. It is the same with MLAs. They aren’t at Stormont, therefore the Northern Ireland Executive cannot function. How many more suicides is it going to take? How many more mental health problems is it going to take? How much more money is it going to take? I am so disappointed in our government, it is actually embarrassing.
I’m an A-level student studying politics, and quite frankly the students in my class could do a better job than some of our MLAs. Who are you legislating for? The people. Who are you representing? The people. Yet some MLAs are putting party above people and that is where the main problem lies.
KATIE GRADEN SPENCE (18)
Bangor, Co Down
Indigenous policing
If President Higgins stayed away from the Soloheadbeg Ambush commemoration, should he have stayed away from the Easter Rising Commemoration as well?
Before he went on to become leader of the Fine Gael Party Richard Mulcahy led an ambush on an RIC convoy in which 11 constables were killed.
One Tan war veteran said the regular British Army were largely non-combatant between 1919 to 1921, leaving a clear line of fire between the volunteer and the local police or RIC forces.
As today’s US Army Field Manual on Iraq and Afghanistan states – after the initial invasion it is necessary to establish indigenous police organised on paramilitary lines to hold the occupied country. Over time the primary counter insurgency force is most often the police not the military. Local police have knowledge of their own terrain, environment, people and culture that outsiders simply cannot match.
Or as Eamon De Valera put it more succinctly: “The RIC are the eyes and ears of the enemy.” After they overran Europe in the 1930s the Nazis set up local paramilitary police in each occupied country; the Sipo/SD (Belgium); the Statspolitiet (Norway); the Grantora Policja (Poland) and the Milice (France).
One French Resistance Veteran said of the Milice - “we hated them more than the Germans! They were our countrymen but they were fighting for the enemy!”
MICHAEL O'FLYNN
Friars Walk, Co Cork
Matter of economics
How many times has our nation’s young adults ventured far and called their mummies for more money? Well, our politicians are no different.
We have forever left ourselves indebted to British taxpayers, the International Fund for Ireland, the European Central Bank and, now, China for maintenance of our economy. We have never stood on our own two feet because we don’t have the sufficient know-how.
I find it ironic that the DUP has a former economics teacher as one of their MPs. Does one wonder if he is aware of the failings of Keynesian economics? Also, would any Eurosceptic Tory willing to join the DUP be willing to spend their constituency time filling out PIP forms?
The enemy of our enemy isn’t necessarily our friend.
DESMOND DEVLIN
Ardboe, Co Tyrone
Run marathon for people with diabetes
Diabetes UK Northern Ireland is calling on runners to take part in the Belfast City Marathon on Sunday May 5 and raise vital funds for people with diabetes.
There are currently 100,000 people living with diabetes in Northern Ireland.
Diabetes is a serious condition, where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly. If not managed well, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can lead to devastating complications such as sight loss, amputation, kidney failure and stroke. There is currently no known cure for any type of diabetes.
Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a seasoned runner, our team will be on hand to offer training tips and fundraising advice. If a marathon is a step too far then you can get your friends and family together to take part in the relay, walk or fun run. To run for Diabetes UK Northern Ireland email fundraising@diabetes.org.uk.
NAOMI BREEN
National Fundraiser at Diabetes UK Northern Ireland
