We unionists have lost our soul and self-respect, and we need to find them

The world has swung far to the liberal left. This left wing bias provokes a reaction, not to the conservative right, but the far right, and that is equally dangerous.

There is a malevolent spirit shaping the world and we in Ulster are not immune from it. It is acting on unionism and we are sounding irrational and ridiculous.

We have been betrayed by Britain and backed into a corner, and our attempts to move out are pathetic. When all else fails we hold a parade.

The nationalist community view our attempts at recovery with amusement and contempt. Some in our community even lull themselves back to sleep by convincing themselves they are winning, and it borders on the insane. It has shades of desperation and I feel embarrassed.

We have lost our soul and our self-respect, and we need to track back and find them.

Backed into a corner our situation continues to deteriorate.

As our community spins out of control desperation takes on the trappings of comedy.

Confused, our community is breaking up and looking increasingly helpless.

Irish nationalists have been waiting for us to come out of the shadows and waited in vain. They are moving on without us, and don’t need our consent. We are like sheep at an auction.

Like it or not we have to engage with Irish nationalism. Only an act of God will change that, and we don’t know Him, our community has lost touch.

We are weak, divided and pitiful, and unable to engage with Irish nationalism on the up.

Our situation is serious and we still have to come to terms with it.

Reality has still to kick in. We don’t know who we are, where we are, and where we are going. Our community is becoming increasingly frustrated and drawn to false prophets like Alliance, and the fringe acts of comics.

Never negotiate from a position of weakness that will be fatal! You negotiate from a position of strength, and we have to work our way into that position. There is no sign of that.

It requires leadership, vision and a radical mindset. It may already be too late.

We need a leader to tell us the truth of where we are, and challenge us to get out into the community and promote our history and our culture.

How we meet this challenge will be our measure. Politicians have failed, and it will have to spring from the grassroots.

God help us!

Clive Maxwell, Bleary