Keeping our red noses out of it!

ONE writer’s view of the Royal Family has gone viral.

Patrick Freyne wrote in The Irish Times: “Having a monarchy next door is a little like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and has daubed their house with clown murals, displays clown dolls in each window and has an insatiable desire to hear about and discuss clownrelated news stories.”

It’s hard to disagree with that summation of our relationship with the Queen and her clan.

Although in response, I could say that having a Catholic church next door is like having a neighbour who’s really into gnomes and has daubed their house with gnome murals, displays gnomes in each window and has an insatiable desire to hear about and discuss gnomerelated news stories.

Even if those stories involve some gnomes molesting children.

The point being that it’s often easy to look over the fence at the way things are done in other countries and think you know better.

The case in point is America – the land of the free… and home of the mass shooting. Our news bulletins have been full of coverage from the latest horrific bloodbath in an American school. Looking on from afar, it’s as if the country is run by an army of heavily armed clown gnomes who love the sight of children’s blood streaming through the streets.

But what can anyone outside of the US actually do about it? Every pundit on this side of the pond seems to have an opinion or their own solution to the problem.

Politicians send their thoughts and prayers.

But what good do they do?

More children in the US are killed by gun violence than die of cancer.

And more children are being slain with store-bought automatic rifles in the US than are being killed in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

But where are the sanctions?

And where is the talk of Joe Biden being “evil”?

Until the American people decide on laws that protect themselves and their children, we should keep our noses out of their business.

We’ll just have to wait until the next school shooting hits our news cycle.

As sure as night follows day, it won’t be long coming.