Madam, - Emily O'Reilly spoke recently of Ireland's modern plight, of our rush for instant gratification, our loss of delayed gratification (The Irish Times, November 6th). Nothing gives me greater pleasure here in my bucolic idyll than to listen to the early morning radio programmes detailing the traffic chaos on all the approach roads to Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. But my smugness is dimmed by a genuine sympathy for the poor souls sitting in these traffic jams in the certain knowledge that the experience will recur ad infinitum.
Ms O'Reilly discussed the many faults of modern Ireland, including public obscenity, drunkenness, casual violence, the rise of talentless celebrities, 24-hour shopping, inappropriately bared midriffs and so-called reality TV.
RTÉ recently replaced a harmless afternoon programme called Open House with the brain-dead, all-female The Afternoon Show, which has stooped to new lows in banality. It would be difficult to lower the intelligence level set by The Late Late Show but RTÉ has succeeded in doing so. People have become incapable of intelligent thought, of making independent choices. "Red-tops", the mind-numbing British tabloids, have gained an increased readership in this country through a diet of sleaze and sex. We are allowing the gutter press and media to control our lives.
The number of SUVs on our roads has increased exponentially with the spiralling cost of petrol. With fossil fuels running out, the purchasers of such vehicles seem intent on a madcap rush to the precipice. The ignorance of their driving, their lack of manners, their sheer effrontery is typical of modern Irish society. We have lost our core values of civility, modesty, decency and respect for others. They have been replaced by a child-like display of new-found wealth and a total disregard for the susceptibilities of others.
Newly-weds today follow the Credit Union financed wedding and Caribbean honeymoon by moving into a fully furnished house. They have nothing to look forward to but a life of constant work to pay off the debt and the increased likelihood of an early divorce. People have forgotten the treasure of growing together, of personal development, of the satisfaction of shared self attainment.
Christmas is almost upon us - the season when the obscenity of the Celtic Tiger reaches its zenith. If we don't pull back from this headlong rush towards hedonism, we will surely reap the whirlwind. It is time to shout stop before it is too late. - Yours, etc.,
PETER MURRAY, Abbeydorney, Co Kerry.