Care defines us

Sir — There is a song that says “There’s been a load of compromising on the road to my horizon”. Undoubtedly each one of us has compromised to greater and lesser degrees. It might even be fair to say that without compromise there cannot be harmony and co-existence. But for each one of us there is a limit beyond which we will not go.

For me that limit is well-being and life. When playing sport was an important part of my life, my colleagues and I, no matter how hard and uncompromising the on-field battles, were always aware of the reality of Monday morning and its call to duty for us all. To deliberately injure or in any way physically harm another player was anathema.

How much more so should each of us have respect and concern for the feeblest and weakest of all, the unborn and the fragile aged. The defining mark of the well-being of any society is how we care for those who are vulnerable and totally dependent. Failure to treat the unborn and our fading elders with care, love and kindness fractures society and dishonours individuals.

The referendum on May 25 is our challenge as individuals and as society, our challenge to publicly affirm our commitment to the right that is pre-eminent — the right of each individual to be born and take his or her chance in the sometimes stern but always exciting game of life. Ours is not the right to deny anyone that great privilege. Our decision in the polling booths will determine and define our national psyche and our attitude to all other humans — in the womb, born and elderly — for decades or maybe even centuries.

Cllr Michael Gleeson, Killarney, Co Kerry