We forget the past at our peril
“Forget the past” is the latest doctrine emanating from the DUP. It goes some way to explain why there has been such a clamour in past days to get to see the GAA at close quarters.
This sort of behaviour would not have been countenanced 20 years ago because those who now claim to be the custodians of our heritage were restrained by the truth which says “Remember the former days”.
Northern Ireland will forget the past at its peril and will pay a heavy price to maintain the freedom we have enjoyed through the gospel.
The nature of the Belfast Agreement is such that in order to keep it in place there must be an injection of compromise every so often, always from the unionist side.
Our nation learned a very salutary lesson in the 1930s. Hitler was a revolutionary and was imprisoned for his activities.
On his release he decided to organise politically which proved to be very successful. He managed to persuade Britain and others that there was no need for armaments since we were all in peace mode. Sounds familiar.
We can say with David the Psalmist, “His words were smoother than butter but war was in his heart.” He made another very telling statement that highlighted the fact that his journey into politics was just another means to the same end: “If outvoting them takes longer than outshooting them, at least the results will be guaranteed by their own constitution”.
The Belfast Agreement is that constitution that the enemy could only dream of and, like Hitler, reinforced by his paramilitary groupings, will carry on doing what they have been doing for years – murdering people.
The real casualties of such a strategy are the victims who must be forgotten if such a policy is going to succeed. But unlike our so-called unionist leaders, we can assure the victims families, “We will remember them.”
George McConnell
Kilkeel
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Weather for Belfast
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
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