Irish Examiner view: Above all, we must believe 

John Hume's respect and compassion

John Hume (left), arrives for the final day of the peace talks at Castle Buildings, Belfast, in April 1998. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Throughout his life, whether as a young teacher or a veteran politician, John Hume embodied the power of visionary and passionate individuals to change the world for the better. 

As the philosopher John Stuart Mill put it, “one person with a belief is equal to the force of 99 who have only interests”.

Hume had belief in spades: belief in the cause of nationalists whose civil rights were denied by the Unionist ascendancy; belief, in turn, that Northern Catholics should, as he exhorted them, “recognise that the Protestant tradition in the North is as strong and as legitimate as our own”. 

Above all, belief in peaceful protest. Not for him, an Armalite in one hand and a ballot paper in the other. 

He was fearless and never hesitated to criticise the reluctance of Nationalists to get involved in local politics. 

At the age of 26, in an article written for the Irish Times, Hume wrote: “Nationalists in opposition... have quite rightly been loud in their demands for rights, but they have remained silent and inactive about their duties.” 

He was to change all that, as a political leader, as a peacemaker, and as a statesman. It was this willingness to recognise the rights of the opposition and the shortcomings of his own side that marked Hume’s greatness not just as a civil rights leader but as a political leader. 

There is a lesson in that approach for our current politicians. Respect the other side's view. 

Be braver. Fight for people, not vested interests. Above all, believe.