As I left the launch of the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, I felt considerable sadness at all the opportunities that were missed and the mistakes that were made, as our society would go on to become embroiled in an unnecessary conflict.
I was brought up in a police family and our lives were about to change significantly, particularly for my father and other officers, who had to live with a constant threat to their lives, as well as witnessing so much trauma visited on our whole community.
For the next 30 years we’re going to face a series of 50th anniversaries of the tragedies from that conflict. Are we mature enough as a society to deal with those stories?
It’s occasionally difficult to be hopeful in that regard, because some of our politicians and commentators continue to stoke old hatreds, as they promote their political aspirations.
As a people we are capable of dealing with all the sadness and hurt that was caused, if the right approach to these events is taken. Perhaps, as a start, we could send each and every household a copy of the book Lost Lives, that documents the stories of all those who were killed. In addition, we should start to create an expanded archive, collecting individual stories so that we can better understand the impact that a violent death has on families and friends.
On occasions we must, of course, focus on individual events, but it would be helpful to highlight the wider context of what happened. This could be combined with a clear statement that unlawful violence was never a justifiable method to promote political aspirations and that it should never be used for these ends again. That’s a lesson that we have to keep repeating to our young people.
Some people, including Sinn Féin, are currently very busy encouraging the idea that the end is nigh for unionism and Northern Ireland.
I don’t accept that analysis and I believe that we should appreciate more what we have and seek to maximise our potential as a people. But even if they are right, can we not get on with building strong social bonds and a thriving economy, in the meantime?
Trying to bring about constitutional change by relying on hatred and crude, sectarian demographics is a putrid, simplistic concept and we are surely much better than that.
TREVOR RINGLAND
Holywood, Co Down
Demand for Belfast method of good governing
A recent article by the director of the Centre of Cross Border Studies clearly lays out the means of effective and fair progressive governing of Belfast which took some years to develop. In the past various people interested in governing Northern Ireland properly have referred to this good governing method and have suggested that it should be applied to the Stormont Assembly.
While the Good Friday Agreement set out a method of governing which enforced a sectarian head count on the expectation of avoiding major groupings acting unfairly against each other. However, the outcome, as was indeed predicted, is that one party is able to stop progress of the whole of our society. This is to the cost of everyone in Northern Ireland. Do we ever ask ourselves, how much does each non-decision, non-meeting of the assembly cost each one of us taxpayers?
It took years to get to the effective meetings of the city’s party group leaders. It took years of work of the city hall’s Good Relations Working Group, to build mutual respect and to defuse emotionally charged issues and agree on consensus, so that progressive decisions could be made.
Could we look forward to more people taking courage and saying effectively, (ie voting) as well as complaining, that what we have is totally unacceptable, and that we are going to change. We are going to become more mature and less sectarian, more economically sustainable and less dependent upon subsidies either from GB or EU, with more people better educated.
Can we say that we want this Belfast model of good governing, can we start demanding this?
TOM EKIN
Belfast BT9
Men must educate themselves about abortion
Kim Guerin’s letter (March 6) advises Irish men to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
Men of all faiths and none are hurt by abortion. Studies show that post-abortive men suffer grief, anxiety, loss of child and manhood, guilt, depression, shame, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and need just as much healing and support as post-abortive women.
Men need to realise it’s their children being aborted and they need to fight for the lives of both their women and unborn children. Men must educate themselves as to what exactly an abortion is and does to the living unborn child, its mother, father and siblings. The excellent Rachel’s Vineyard (USA) website carries help for men damaged by this procedure.
Men of the Republic be real not hollow, then work to fill the lives of your loved ones with light and love, not darkness and death. Vote to keep the Eighth Amendment.
JOHN AUSTIN
Limavady, Co Derry
Respect – Where?
Over recent months I read a lot about respect and each time ask, where was respect for – human life during decades of murder and mayhem; the tricolour as it was hung on trees and utility poles; the Irish language as it was dragged through the political gutter over the last year or so.
I also have to ask where is respect for – truth in a government where spin doctors are employed to keep us all in the dark; taxpayers whose hard earned money is pocketed by MLAs and MPs not willing to work, struggling home and business owners forced to pay extravagant rates; suffering patients on long waiting lists; principals starved of funds to run their schools; young men and women forced to emigrate for work. As I have said before, wake up time is long past.
J ROONEY
Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh
Keeping duopoly afloat
As the north of Ireland totters on the brink, the politicians who run the DUP--Sinn Fein duopoly, the people who make speeches and are feted, collect titles and gongs, are not concerned with the public interest as we the electorate conceive it. They are concerned with the public interest as they conceive it, rounding a nice cosy political sinecure, keeping the duopoly afloat and imposing their view of society and alternative cultures on the Irish/British people. I believe this duopoly to be one of the greatest evils in our country today
WILSON BURGESS
Derry City
Shoulder to shoulder
Captain Rory Best and the Grand Slam champions represent all that is great about our island. Shoulder to shoulder to make us proud.
ROBERT SULLIVAN
Bantry, Co Cork
