Letters to the Editor: Blurred line between right and wrong
'The prevailing age is one rife with information. It is coming at us from all corners; street corners, screens, news bulletins, TikTok.' File picture
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
I came across this quote from the poet Rumi quite a long time ago, while reading a novel called by the wonderful Anne Enright.
That one line has remained with me ever since, and I find myself returning to it more and more often in recent times.
Inexplicably at first, but maybe less so when one considers the current climate we are living in.
The prevailing age is one rife with information.
It is coming at us from all corners; street corners, screens, news bulletins, TikTok.
And oftentimes, we are so firmly affixed to our own individual sources that we don’t dare question them.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to separate truth from lies, reality from fiction, and genuine information from disingenuous gossip.
We frequently lean towards the less desirable news.
It is a stimulant of sorts, something to light the fire in our bellies.
And the danger of this is twofold: We are becoming less inclined to believe in the good, and we ache for what is controversial or perturbable.
Absolutely nothing in our world is flawless.
And there are undoubtedly cracks that are becoming more apparent as a consequence of past mistakes and misdirection.
If you don’t find yourself outraged every once in a while, you are not paying attention.
But as we bicker among ourselves about what is right, who we are, who others are, and where others belong, are we not simply widening those cracks?
That is not to say that we should remain mute, hesitant to stand up for what we believe in.
But what if those very beliefs that we hold dear stem from a culture of misinformation, a plague that is rapidly spreading as a consequence of our desire to believe in what will only perturb us?
Nowadays, I find myself gravitating more and more towards that field that Rumi talked about.
And the blurred line between right and wrong becomes more so, as does our oneness.
I didn’t understand Pride — but now I do.
With the largest events having taken place across June and July, I wanted to reflect on my experiences as Pride season winds down.
I previously avoided Pride events. I’m an introvert who hates noise, crowds, and parties.
Besides, I never felt “proud” of myself.
My identity had been a source of suffering — something that “other-ed” me, and opened me up to abuse.
So year after year, I skipped out on Pride. I didn’t see the point.
This year was different. As the world has grown more hostile, especially to trans and gender-diverse people, I felt obliged to connect.
I attended events, local and afar, and what I saw opened my mind.
At every event, both large and small, I saw a side of my friends that I had never seen before.
I saw a shy lesbian shed her inhibitions and dance freely. I saw a timid gay man roar with the crowd. I saw an anxious trans woman holler with joy. I saw a depressed bi man grinning for the first time in years.
I knew many of these people were traumatised. They had confided in me stories of bullying, hate crimes, and familial rejections.
I thought that, like me, their identities were burdens on them. But they weren’t — at least not at Pride.
For those fleeting days, they could let go, and be happier than I had had ever seen them.
I didn’t “enjoy” Pride, but I am so very glad I went, weekend after weekend, town after town, to see this new side of people I thought knew.
When I saw them so ecstatic, despite the hurt they endured, I cried for them. Tears of joy on each bus home.
My view of Pride has been profoundly changed, forever.
Now I know what Pride is to me. It’s a miracle: Painful, beautiful, and pure.
I hear that there are plans to rename Bishop Lucey Park in Cork City and I am asking that, before such a decision is made, that the relevant authorities research the fantastic work that Bishop Lucey did in transforming the slums of Trujillo in Peru.
He turned them into a vibrant thriving community by sending missionary priests and nuns from cork to work with the poorest of the poor by establishing clinics, schools, churches, soup kitchens, and workshops so local people could learn trades and support their families into the future
All of this work was helped by the generosity of cork people over all the decades the cork missionaries worked in this area.
I for one hope that the park retains its name in recognition of this fantastic work carried out overseas by Bishop Lucey and all the missionaries
What a summer we had following the red jerseys and being treated to hurling exhibitions at their very best.
The beautiful weather added to the enjoyment leading Cork to the first major achievement of winning the league.
Then Championship got under way and our jubilant Rebels effortlessly reached the Munster final to take on The Treaty County again.
What a thrilling, extended contest that was, going to extra time, level again; we wondered how those amateur players would withstand the pace.
The Rebels stood tall and shook the net with force to emerge victorious, we as spectators were winded too!
Enda McEvoy summed them up ( July 19): “Cork are red-blooded and have given us a different type of entertainment. It is less something new, more something old and comforting... they’re all tricks and everything Leeside folk love to see in their hurlers... a team that sings to the county’s sense of self.”
Let us not forget that and how these Rebel heroes lit up league and Championship all summer and lifted our spirits to a new high, under the calm, but masterful eye of Pat Ryan.
We heartily enjoyed every minute of it and being part of ‘The Sea of Red’ at each game, Cork supporters are unique and powerfully colourful!
Thanks for those sunny days lads and we’ll be back again, loud in good cheer.
Congrats to Tipp and enjoy Liam MacCarthy glory... after all, ye beat the best!
Each day we wake to a new horror unfolding in Gaza.
People, children, shot at so-called aid stations.
Healthcare workers, themselves under attack, are operating on children without adequate facilities.
This living nightmare is unfolding publicly in front of the world. All of us must live with our conscience. It is too easy to look away.
I have no doubt, however, that the images of starving people and grieving families haunt all of us at every level.
Our politicians are human too.
Please use whatever leverage you can to pressure the Israeli state to stop this genocide.
Enact the occupied territories bill including services as soon as is possible.
Continue to put pressure on the European Parliament to sanction Israel. Let us do the right thing.
About 80 years ago at this time, American and Allied troops were liberating prison camps across a war-devastated Europe.
The world was shocked at the unfolding story of cruelty, starvation and man’s inhumanity to man.
The subsequent trials revealed that the underlying cause was the failure to empathise with human beings from a different background.
We thought that such scenes were consigned to another century; that they would not happen in our watch.
Instead, we are now witnessing women, children and starving men, having to scramble for a morsel of food, under constant fear of being shot.
The estimated civilian death toll in the small besieged area has reached 60,000. America is now in a totally different role!
As citizens, we need to encourage our public representatives to keep speaking out forcefully against cruelty and genocide.
As consumers, we can tell our retailers and suppliers that we have no interest in acquiring goods or services from a nation, which at this point in time, does not appear to recognise the basic human rights of the Palestinian people.
Dear readers, do you know the name of the president of Switzerland?
Switzerland has Europe’s best managed society by far with three distinct language cultures to blend into a cohesive whole.
The reason you don’t know the name of the Swiss president is because:
(a) they are not elected by a public vote as they have a largely ceremonial role and a negligible legislative role (same as Ireland), they are elected from their peers in the parliament;
(b) they receive a 10% lift on their parliamentary salary and not a ridiculous €320,000 as in Ireland;
(c) they do not have a grand stately home to live in but remain in their own home with use of a state house for state occasions , the same goes for motor vehicles etc etc and finally...
(d) they serve for one year, not seven, or 14 if our president gets a second term.
Ireland, please put an end to this farce and grow up will ye?
