Sir, - Well said, Timothy O'Connor. It is over 20 years since I left Ireland and set up home here in New York. One of my proudest moments in that time was just a week before September 11th, when I received my United States passport. Since September 11th I have had even greater cause for pride in this great nation: the heroism we witnessed along with a sense of shared pain has united this country as never before.
I have, however, felt an increasing embarrassment and disgust at some of the nonsense coming out of Ireland. It is becoming obvious to me that the so-called modern and enlightened Ireland is a nation of ungrateful parasites, happy to live off the rest of the world when it needs to but unwilling to support others in their time of need.
The United States does not need Ireland's support or gratitude for how it protects itself or its interests at home or abroad. Ireland however, does need the United States - its tourist dollars, its investment dollars and the promise this great nation offers. If the "Celtic Tiger" is the great modern and progressive paradise we are asked to believe in, why do so many young Irish men and women continue to seek entry here?
The citizens of the US are no fools. When this nightmare is ended they will remember who their friends were. As for me personally, I long ago lost any romantic notions of Ireland and from now on, apart from family and friends there, I will no longer care about the place or what it thinks of American policies.
I love this country and what it gave me and my family. I fly my Stars and Stripes with pride! - Yours, etc.,
Leonard Craig, Carmel, New York, USA.