Madam, - Marie-Claire Walsh (November 7th) claims "America has regained its status as the world's greatest nation" as a result of the election of Barack Obama. America has certainly been transformed, but I take issue with the notion that it has ever enjoyed such an exalted position.
The Democratic candidate's triumph is indisputably a wonderful moment in the story of the United States, in particular for the oppressed and the underclasses. His poise and oratory are tremendously uplifting. Great hopes and expectations rest on his shoulders.
But however much optimism Mr Obama's election generates, it does not make the assertion that America is the greatest nation on earth any less offensively risible to the rest of us. When combined with ruthless ambition, the notion of a land of destiny can lead some people to behave very dangerously, as we have seen recently with Bush and his neo-imperialist henchmen.
From a European perspective, the new president represents hope for an era in which multilateralism and humility will replace belligerent and jingoistic policies.
The US may have the world's most powerful and influential economy - for now - but at a fundamental level, it is just another member of the broader community of nations.
At a time of momentous change and euphoria, it is understandable that Americans themselves may indulge in a bit of self-aggrandisement and bombast, but for a citizen of any other country to join with the hype strikes me as somewhat unseemly. - Yours, etc,
Madam, - In relation to president-elect Obama's manifesto promise to stop US corporations effectively exporting jobs overseas and avoiding US taxation - as with the genesis of the economic slump, the Lisbon Treaty debacle and the banking bailout - the Irish Government and its supporters in business and the media persist with their cultural inability to be realistic.
As the US records its worst jobless figures for 14 years at the same time as the US department of commerce has identified the full scale of US profits and jobs in Ireland, it would be a brave person who would bet that Obama's manifesto pledge will not be implemented.
This alone will force us to face the full scale of the irresponsibility of Irish governments and their cheerleaders since at least 1997 in failing to develop indigenous industry and jobs that could replace those created by US profiteers when they have to return home, as sooner or later they were always going to have to. Ireland should by now be a world leader in green technology and other vital 21st-century industries, but it is not.
With the bursting of the property bubble it helped to inflate and the predictable economic slump, not to mention the Lisbon Treaty debacle, the present Irish Government has given the Irish people a bleak outlook.
The otherwise welcome election of Barack Obama, with his understandable policy of getting American revenue and jobs returned to America, means that already bleak outlook now looks terminal. Fried chickens are returning home to roost. - Yours, etc,
Madam, - After a historic week in American politics, with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the US, one can't help reflecting on the meaning of leadership.
It seems evident to me that good leadership is based on good planning and a clear vision of the future. Over the past two years we've watched Barack Obama explain his plan and vision for the future of America. These are being proclaimed at a time when many world leaders appear muddled and confused about recent events on a national and global level.
In such times of uncertainty people are prepared to row in behind their leaders, to accept sacrifice and pain in the knowledge that, in the long term, their leader's plans and visions will be realised. The leader's plan becomes the shared plan, the shared vision, of the nation.
So, what is the vision for Ireland? What kind of Ireland do we want to live in 10 or 15 years from now? If we and our leaders can't answer this question with any sense of belief or confidence then how are we expected to get to that place? In the absence of such a vision we will continue to chase our tails, as we have in recent months.
The absence of such a vision creates uncertainty and reactive politics - the kind of politics where plans and budgets are hastily prepared and then changed when it becomes obvious they are unfair and unworkable. Reactive politics leads to the kind of nonsense we have been subjected to of late, where we are told of exciting new plans to save lives and money with a more preventive approach to healthcare and then told that, owing to budget cuts, they won't be possible.
Ireland has now reached a point where strong leadership and clear vision are required; but whether or not they will materialise is another matter. - Yours, etc,