Why it’s vitally important to remember the value of a vote

ALL of the world is abuzz with the politics of the US, and examining these events gives some wisdom on what not to do.

Ron DeSantis has read the tea leaves and given up his dream of being the president, dashing the hopes of many who don’t want Donald Trump to win the nomination, much less the election.

Trump is apparently ‘honoured’ to be endorsed by DeSantis, which seems odd given how poorly he spoke about his former rival. Surely a reference from someone you insulted isn’t credible. Maybe this endorsement is a desperate effort to get the nod for the VP job and then hope that Trump is jailed, disqualified or both.

The world of politics is still weird, full of different characters, occasionally the best of the best, lately some celebrities, a few who lack character or honesty, many of limited intellect and a few trying to do the right thing. It makes people wonder: if there are so many wanting these jobs, why are there so few good candidates?

Remember the value of your vote and choose the best person, not the loudest or the most popular.

DENNIS FITZGERALD, Melbourne, Australia.

Mysteries of faith

ST George’s Church, in Belfast city centre, has a dove-adorned baptism font close to the door.

The bird is a symbol of the Holy Spirit but our ancient Irish Church also used ‘the wild goose’. May 2023 saw National Geographic magazine run a photo of wild geese atop summer nesting cliffs in the Arctic. The birds migrate south in autumn and huge flocks mysteriously appear on the Inner Hebridean island of Islay.

Travellers marvel at the sight of Greenland’s icy mountains’ on a Toronto-to-Dublin flight. Few understand the basics of jet propulsion or air navigation, and fewer still can explain the mystery of long-distance goose migration.

One objection to belief (‘faith’) is an absence of total understanding. But CS Lewis describes how human hunger demands an ability to recognise and consume food: not academic knowledge of nutrition or digestion. A so-called ‘faith commitment’ has a similar dimension. Responding to spiritual thirst never requires a philosophy PhD. The ‘wild goose’ metaphor of the ancient Irish Church remains an inspired one.

JAMES HARDY, by email.

Stop the shooting

DEFENDING shooting based on an argument that your opponents do not understand the practice and its role in the countryside shows you are standing on fracked ground. What gives Ireland’s shooting community a touch of the cordite vapours is that animal rights activists actually know what they are talking about.

When dealing with those with a shyness for the truth, your antihunting case has to be based on factual evidence, and have a modicum of ‘it’s the right thing to do’. Those of us who can live without firing cartridges into wildlife do take the time to study the threadbare pro-shooting argument.

We also spend time obtaining, reading and disseminating the latest research findings into wildlife and their role in the environment.

Given that the vast majority of rural dwellers do not support bloodsports and do not want animal abuse taking place in their communities, it requires a great conceit to claim that the hunting issue is a rural/urban divide.

Many rural residents condemn the impact of the hunting community, often facilitated by their farming allies, on wildlife and the environment. Your Eircode does not determine if you can express a view about the hunting.

This is not a matter of urban versus rural; it is a call for compassion and ethical stewardship of our natural world. Let us prioritise empathy, conservation, and the wellbeing of our environment over the transient pleasure of a few.

JOHN TIERNEY, campaigns director, Association of Hunt

Saboteurs, Dublin 1.