Courtney McGrailDear Editor, How can we live in a society where a man like Donald Trump is permitted to berate the world with his bigotry, let alone run for presidency of a so-called ‘superpower’? Trump reminds me of the drunk who torments punters down the local, spouting out nonsense and ignorance that nobody wants to hear.
Browsing through social media only fuelled my fears. There was a carnival vibe to this year’s ‘March for Choice’. Brightly designed t-shirts were donned by celebrities, banners with catchy slogans like ‘Womb to Improve’ were captured on camera, and mantras to fight for the right to abort were chanted amid fist pumps of determination and the bright smiles of those who believe that they are doing good.
Many of their faces shone brightly like those on a mission for – for what? Justice? Equality? Human rights? Or the decimation of all three?
It is these ethical paradoxes that I find most terrifying. I cannot fathom how our Minister for Children could tale part in a march that calls for the abolition of an unborn child’s right to live. I’m dismayed to see parents boasting about their children marching for a cause that would have removed their rights and silenced their voices before they were born.
There has to be an objective reality. Existence is not a mere matter of subjectivity. It does not depend on our perception of it, or how we feel about it. Life either is or isn’t.
Do we not at least deserve the plain facts on what constitutes life before we march for choice about it? Or do we want to be blinded by fancy slogans and feel good one-liners which abnegate personal responsibility?
I wonder if we’ll make our children proud.
Yours etc.,
Marie Douglas,
Kilmore, Dublin 5.