Inaction by the EU, UN and NATO is a failure of good against evil

as RussiaAs bombs rained down on Ukrainian cities and their terrified citizens, President Volodymr Zelenskyy called the attacks “a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come”.

Here are laws against snuff movies and the recording and viewing of other abuses.

Still, we follow the daily horrors in Ukraine on our smart screens. Of course, we are spared the actual killing itself. We’ll leave those sorts of details to the fictional world of Netflix and Hollywood.

And for 25 days – for whatever reason – the entire European Union, the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization watched idly.

We pretend we’re helping by filling shopping carts to send to those who have already had their homes bombed out.

If you saw an animal in distress on the road, stop and help as best you could. But nine million displaced people on our own continent do not justify military intervention.

Certainly, the Kremlin is the fundamental violator.

But remember what the philosopher Edmund Burke said in it Thoughts about the cause of the present dissatisfaction (1770): “When the wicked unite, the good must unite; otherwise they will fall one by one, a pitiless victim in a despicable struggle.”

Larry Dunne

Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford

Germany’s traumatic past still casts a shadow for a very long time

I can understand that Germany is not ready to be drawn into a war with Russia. In addition to the immediate economic impact, there is another factor.

I am convinced that the German nation suffers from a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by its recent, tragic history.

First there was the traumatic aftermath of World War I, which ultimately led to the rise of the Third Reich.

Then came the Holocaust and World War II. Germany was literally leveled, divided and defeated.

Next came the division of Germany, with East Germany being governed from Moscow. This is recent history.

The German position must be seen in this context, despite the worrying and unnecessary events in Ukraine.

Rory O’Connor

Kenmare, Co Kerry

We can all play a role by refusing to shop in China

it is obviously the case that China will not support the West against Russia.

However, the free people of the world who keep Chinese exports growing need only start by saying to Amazon, for example: “We will not buy Chinese products unless they condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine.”

All Amazon products should be promptly labeled with an “Amazon Certified” country of manufacture.

China will also never invade Taiwan if the West stops buying its products until it condemns Russia.

Fergus Jordan

Greystones, County Wicklow

Rugby aside, maybe we can give the English some credit

Maybe the English didn’t do Mairin Ní Dhomhnaill any favors at the weekend, but they certainly made my life better (“It’s no real surprise that the English didn’t do us any favours”, lettersMarch 21st).

English inventions include the pencil, the baby carriage, the lathe, vaccination, the first anesthetic (laughing gas), the ophthalmoscope, urban water and sewage systems, the light switch, fingerprints, polyester, the microchip, the first home computer, the early Laptop, the worldwide network. The list goes on.

Then there are all the beautiful buildings in Ireland including government buildings, the National Museum, the Four Courts and Trinity College.

Not to mention all my aunts, uncles and brothers who have had to work here in England over the years due to economic mismanagement.

Karl Martin

Bayside, Dublin 13

The government must seriously consider serving the West

Maire The article by Treasa Ní Cheallaigh (“Western commuters left behind in rush to stop climate change”, Irish IndependentMarch 19) was spot on.

Unless we as a nation make the decision to develop adequate—or even excellent—public transportation infrastructure with a proper timetable to allow our Western cities to build and grow, we will forever condemn the West to a constant bloodbath of talent and capital.

Time for a change in government policy so we can properly balance our nation and grow sustainably.

Richard Loge

Mill Hill, London, England