Hectoring tone is hard on the nerves

The new puritanism

Sir, – I am beginning to feel hemmed in on all sides, with little or no light at the end of the tunnel, because for starters, I don’t need the tunnel. An increase in alcohol consumption by a small percentage leads to calls to abandon plans for a night-time economy, there’s a call for an increase in sugar tax to save our children from obesity, there’s a furore because somebody mentioned building more roads, we’re encouraged to go electric and use the non-built roads, we cannot fly anywhere because of our carbon footprint, we apparently risk life and limb cycling anywhere, even with the millions of (plastic) bollards to keep us safe, and I’m afraid to mention having a smoke (of any substance). We must only eat vegetables because meat is murder, don’t wear cotton or linen because it uses millions of gallon of water to produce, and on and on. Soon I’ll be living, if you can call it that, afraid to go anywhere, eat anything, drink anything, burn anything to keep warm, wear anything to cover our nakedness, and run shoeless. I look forward to moving into Peig Sayers’s old house, for a little light relief. – Yours, etc,

PAT QUINN,

Inchicore,

Dublin 8.