Bordering on the Ridiculous
The difference between boiling and simmering is simply one of degree ( s ) and that is , perhaps , exemplified by the current debate over the impact of Brexit and the future peace of the island of Ireland .
While this is not the place for a debate on the rights or wrongs of the decision to impose a Little England mentality of isolationism ( slight clue to the author ’ s views there !), even those of the Ostrich persuasion cannot , surely , ignore the potential consequences of restoring a hard border between the North and the South of this still troubled land .
Since the Good Friday agreement , a form of peace has prevailed across the water , but anyone visiting selected areas of Belfast will realise that that peace , if peace it actually is , is fragile and never more than a few steps ( or marches ) away from a renewing conflagration .
With talks on the matter seemingly heading for an impasse , attitudes are hardening on both sides of a divide which was , at best , only ever bridged by a temporary structure .
The role of the churches in the province is currently marked by their conspicuous absence from the debate and , given that many protagonists in previous obscenities did so on the basis of perverted interpretations of faiths , that is not acceptable .
The author would be the first to criticise church leaders for interfering in matters which are out with their purview , but this is not one of them .
Everyone with a genuine interest in preventing the still simmering tensions from boiling over into renewed conflict should be contributing to the debate , and not with stolid rhetoric - but with meaningful solutions on how to treat this self-inflicted wound which could quickly turn into political and social gangrene .
Steven Lawrence – 25 Years Later
The BBC ’ s recent drama / documentary , spread over three nights , made for powerful and thought-provoking viewing .
It is difficult to know whether the shock of being exposed to the horrific institutionalised racism of the establishment a quarter of a century ago was more distressing than the perception that little has changed although our society would claim to have advanced significantly .
A young life was tragically snuffed out because of perceived , superficial differences , and you have to wonder if things will ever really change until we concentrate more on what we have in common than on what is believed to divide us ?
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Anon