Sir, – As Christmas approaches, I so agree with the observations and sentiments of Barbara Sturrock of Dundee who on driving into Dundee, witnessed what she described as the craziness of Christmas in her letter, Consumerism gone mad.
This made her think about Christmas and Christianity and I confess, I share her thoughts as I observe what I see as a celebration of money, motivated by business. Living in the country, I recall walking along a quiet road on a Christmas Eve. As the last embers of a winter sun caressed the hills, then shadows fell, I stood by an old gate looking to a field where inquisitive sheep gazed.
This was sheer simplicity that money could not buy as I looked to the heavens beyond all understanding. This for me, was Christmas.
I believe you cannot love money and love God.
Thomas Brown.
3 Church Place,
Bankfoot.
Secrecy and profligacy
Sir, – I recently met with a team member of the Scottish Air Ambulance and was very impressed with his enthusiasm and manner.
This particular person was giving of his own time on a Sunday to inform the folk around about him about the work that they undertake as a charity.
A few days later I learnt that Perth and Kinross Council will not divulge the cost of getting a bunch of folk, probably many people won’t have heard of, to switch the Christmas lights on in the town.
I have a better idea. I would be willing to switch the lights on and give the £20,000 or whatever to this very worthwhile cause.
Does Perth and Kinross Council have no accountability? The money wasted here isn’t even theirs.
NJ Law.
11 Hillend Road,
Perth.
Scone homes cash windfall
Sir, – Setting aside the increased congestion, heavy goods traffic, pollution, Gannochy and Kinnoull being turned into rat-runs, the question of Robert Douglas School being able to increase capacity, medical facilities being able to cope and a survey showing 98% of residents are against the development, would I be right in thinking that Perth and Kinross Council is set to gain an income of £1.6 million to £1.8m a year from community charges levied on the proposed 700-house development in Scone? This is quite an incentive one would think and is based on community charge figures (Band F and G) published by Perth and Kinross Council for 2016.
Julian Nicholls.
6 Craigroyston Crescent,
Scone.
Donald Trump is not sexist
Sir, – Nicola Sturgeon’s thinly veiled criticism of Donald Trump, above, as an offender against gender equality was predictable.
The secular liberal moral lexicon is slim, so such charges of sexism are often misplaced.
It is not sexist for a man to make derogatory remarks about a woman’s appearance. It is rude, ungentlemanly and infantile.
It is not sexist to purport to use women for mere sexual gratification. It is a failure to observe the proper boundary of sexual expression: a mutual, committed, exclusive, loving relationship.
It is not sexist to suggest that one’s power and influence render people unable to resist one’s sexual advances. It is selfish at least, abusive at worst.
If Mr Trump were gay and made such objectionable comments about men, what would that make him? Homophobic? Anti-men? Sexist?
Progressives call Donald Trump sexist because they have devalued the currency of conventional sexual morality and are left with no charge to bring beyond their ubiquitous accusation of sexism.
Richard Lucas.
11 Broomyknowe,
Colinton,
Edinburgh.
Middle East interference
Sir, – For all the hand-wringing, Aleppo pales in comparison with the fall of Berlin to the Russians or our bombing of the refugee-packed hospital city of Dresden in the last weeks of the Second World War.
And our finger-pointing at Assad and his allies must not deflect attention from our feckless interference in Syria’s internal affairs which opened the way to Daesh’s barbarians.
It was to avoid the kind of mess we created in the Middle East that the UN specifically banned intervention in “matters which are essentially within the jurisdiction of any state”.
Yet we have supported the US in undermining Saddam, Gaddafi, Mubarak, Assad and every secular ruler in the Levant who stood between the civilised world and religious extremism.
Rev Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.
A community under pressure
Sir, – I was somewhat surprised to read that Perth and Kinross Council approved the proposed route and dubious cost of the new bridge across the Tay unanimously but that some councillors wished their dissent to be recorded.
Having checked my dictionary, I was pleased to confirm that my interpretation of the word “dissent” means “to show disagreement”.
Surely the way to show dissent is to vote against a proposal, or, at worst, abstain from voting at all. Are our present crop of councillors so mealy-mouthed and lily- livered that they are too frightened to express their views democratically instead of kowtowing to a pre-prepared, dogma-ridden political briefing?
If that is the case, then I and many others believe that this is about as democratic as a firing squad.
I also note that Mr John Stephen is pressing ahead with his unwanted development but is grateful for all of the “local engagement”.
May I remind Mr Stephen (and our council) that the majority of the people of Scone objected to the Balgarvie development but it proceeded anyway.
Now the majority of Scone residents are even more against the destruction of greenbelt land and the addition of even more houses to our village.
As I have said before, the infrastructure is not here to support even 100 houses, let alone 750.
John D. Ridley.
Spoutwells Drive,
Scone.
Return traffic to our high streets
Sir, – Laurie Richards (December 16) made a good point about too much traffic killing high streets.
He cited Cupar which is a major through route in Fife.
There are, however, other town centres such as Dundee and Arbroath and to some extent, Perth, which suffer from too little traffic.
The dash to pedestrianise high streets and separate them from the traffic system has left them unwelcoming at night.
A certain amount of traffic brings people and life and helps create a good environment in which to do business.
Robert Anderson.
Kirkton,
Arbroath.