View of a mature parliament
Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see on my TV screen MSPs acting like responsible adults. We had the superb spectacle of restrained, statesmanlike behaviour from the leaders of all the political parties; we had a glimpse of a mature parliament of which we were not ashamed and which, if given half a chance, may yet prove to be worthy of the Scottish people.
If this is what a minority administration is going to give us, then I fervently hope that we never again have a majority administration which feels it can, with arrogance and impunity, perpetrate a travesty of justice like that of the Shirley McKie case. At least a minority administration should not be allowed to ride roughshod over the opinions of the majority of a decent, thinking electorate. I look forward to an administration which may heed the wishes of the wider electorate.
James Beckett, A Voter Disenfranchised by the Postal Voting Fiasco, 58 Sandholes Road, Brookfield, Renfrewshire.
Catholic schooling
as a teacher of many years' experience and as a Church of Scotland member to boot, I utterly disagree with End Church Veto Over Jobs, Say Teachers (May 16). During my teaching career, I have taught in several Catholic schools and am doing so at present.
If I were a Catholic parent I would wish my child to be brought up in a Catholic school environment. I would expect that the teachers teaching religion would also be Catholic and would "demonstrate appropriate religious belief and character".
There is a completely different ethos in a non-denominational school, with a different slant to religion, to accommodate all religions. In a Catholic school, masses are held, Holy Week services and so on which would not happen in a non-denominational school.
According to the figures, there are fewer people attending places of worship. Surely it is positive and commendable to retain Catholic schools where it is important to continue religious teaching with suitably-experienced teachers.
Andrea Steele, Kames, Cardross, Dunbartonshire.
Respect for animals
Dr David Walker (May 16) is wrong to see vegetarianism as a step in man's evolution. Dr Walker's (false) view of evolution is that humans are at the top of some sort of evolutionary ladder and we should be striving to extend the ladder by becoming vegetarians. Humans are merely a small twig on a very large evolutionary tree. We are no better or worse than any other species, just different.
Vegetarianism may well be on the increase in the UK and other western cultures but that is not the case around the world. In China, the most heavily populated nation, vegetarianism is seen as a strange phenomenon introduced from the west. Is Dr Walker suggesting that other cultures are in some way less "evolved" than in the west?
It is not necessary to be a vegetarian to respect other animals and care for their welfare. Animal welfare would be better served, not by us all becoming vegetarians (a personal choice), but by pressing governments to improve the welfare of farmed animals. The government has introduced legislation to improve animal welfare. In England and Wales, the RSPCA has introduced a farm assurance scheme to improve farm animal welfare.
I agree with Dr Walker that we need to change the way we view other animals, but becoming a vegetarian will not improve animal welfare.
Dr Andrew Kelly, RSPCA Stapeley Grange, London Road, Nantwich, Cheshire.
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