Letter: The unionist community is in freefall and spiralling out of control - the fightback must start in our schools

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history,” said George Orwell.

Our state schools have been doing this for years, some unwittingly, and they have got away with it. The unionist community was lazy and disinterested. This has led to a community in freefall and spiralling out of control. We don’t know who we are, where we are, or where we are going. We are now in crisis! Betrayed by Britain, and neglecting our culture, we have nothing of substance to fall back on.

This crisis is in sharp contrast with a nationalist community who, through their schools, is thriving. Their schools, to their credit, promote their history, their faith, and their culture, and this has encouraged their children to take pride in their community and grow into it. It develops a community spirit we have lost. Catholic schools lay the foundations of their culture and provide the building blocks for the future. That doesn’t happen in the state sector where our culture is suppressed.

You could divide our community into three camps - those who don’t know, those who don’t care, and those battling against a liberal tide and are still clinging to the lifeboats.

We view ourselves as British, but many in our own community, who have their hands on the levers of power, are less than enthusiastic, even hostile. They like the romance of being Irish. If we are going to salvage anything from this mess they need to be challenged, and it starts in our schools. This comes with a health warning. We need to be careful, these people will feel threatened, resist, and fight back. Hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned.

Clive Maxwell, Bleary