Letter: The unionist community is weak and has drifted off course - we need to take risks

I assume this was a permanent blush of abiding shame. The DUP, and its supporters, should inherit that mark, but they are determined to give the protocol a positive spin, and brazen it out. It’s not even subtle, they’re lost and don’t know what to do.

This wasn’t an agreement, it was imposed on our weakness. Blame the DUP if we must, and rightly so, but the unionist community has sat back for years and let this happen.

We’re all culpable, and in our indolence and apathy, we strengthened the hand of the assassin. We are now a people with no history, no culture, and no faith – abandoned, banished, and nowhere to turn.

A large percentage of our electorate, who have the capacity to lead, sit at home and complain, and won’t get involved. They won’t rouse themselves sufficiently to get out and vote.

They may argue, with some justification, our politicians don’t inspire them, but they shoulder much of the blame. They will waken up one morning with the awful thought that time has passed them by – and they have missed the last train.

Politics has failed, and this is dangerous. Others will move in to fill the gap.

The stakes are high, let the dice roll, and fall where they may. It’s time to put up, or shut up!

Those who have opted out of the political process, or vote Alliance, have shown our hand and weakened our negotiating position. The DUP has failed us, and so have they.

Those who oppose this diktat need to set aside petty differences and provide leadership. They’re not exactly inspirational. They need to provide an alternative strategy to rouse our community, and inspire hope, and they need to provide evidence they are up to the task.

It’s time to look our community straight in the eye and tell it the truth – the good times are over, and there is no way back. Anything we get we’ll have to work for it, and break sweat.

The unionist community is weak and has drifted off course. We have to jettison excess baggage and trim back, or we’ll sink. Change is coming, and opting out won’t wash. It has opened up a debate on finding a way forward, and we’ll ignore it at our peril.

We have to take risks, and it comes with a health warning. We kept patching up a gaping wound, and it now requires surgery. We’re in an isolation ward on life support.

Clive Maxwell, Bleary