Call for quiet in the bedlam of our ‘mad as hell’ world

SIR, In 1976, the Oscar-winning actor Peter Finch landed the line of his career as newscaster Howard Beale in the film ‘Network’ when he shouted “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Forty one years later the shouting is becoming deafening.

People in Ireland sure seem to be mad. But, in fairness, who could blame the residents of Co. Meath and Co. Louth for being mad when filthy water invades their private homes?

And this year it’s costing more to send your children back to school than last year and the ‘back to school’ sales hardly help at all. Parents are rightfully mad.

The sight of a 14-year old girl stumbling along the street drunk as a lord is not a pretty one. Underage drinking should make everyone mad.

Dedicated, intelligent medical professionals have a pyramid of reasons to be mad at the HSE as it’s filled with stumble bums.

Ladies will be mad for the shouting when the abortion referendum comes around next year.

A capital gains tax on selling your house and land? People in rural Ireland would not sell either if they did not need the money. But the State wants a cut anyway. The State did not work the land for years in every kind of weather. The farmers did that and plenty of them are mad as hell.

I’m mad because some skinny bloke splashed in tattoos is set to make about €570,000 A WEEK playing football! That’s madness. No game is that beautiful.

There’s a lot of people mad and a lot of shouting going on. It gets louder all the time till we’re hoarse from it. It seems the louder we shout, the less anyone listens.

How about this for a change: Everybody... shussssssssss. Quiet now.

Take a minute to think. Then will come the solutions. Sincerely,

Tom Cahill, Ballinskelligs.