Time to count our blessings

In his interesting letter, Mr L Chapman draws a comparison between this country and Hell. Much as I would like to agree with him, I cannot.

It is true that we live in a country where crime often seems to be rewarded, and where we have seen the demise of rights and freedoms that for centuries we had thought inviolable.

It is also true that we are frequently lied to and that we are waging a war that is quite unjustified. There are many other criticisms that can be laid at the door of the Government.

But elsewhere, thousands of people die every day for lack of clean drinking water.

In Zimbabwe, once a prosperous country, violence and poverty are normal, and the government brutally suppresses dissent. Many Zimbabweans survive on grain handouts, and hundreds of thousands of badly needed professionals have left.

In Darfur, 200,000 people have died in misery in the current conflict and more than two million have been forced to leave their homes. Four million are dependent on humanitarian aid and the aid that is available cannot reach a further million.

In the USA, a natural disaster was met with unimaginable incompetence, leaving thousands of people without food, water and shelter.

In many other places, there is violence in the name of whichever version of God the people believe in.

Millions of the world's population have no access to a decent, or any health service.

We can hope that some of the damage to our nation is temporary. Meanwhile, we can still criticise the Government, travel freely and go about our lives without fear of government violence.

Hell in the UK? No, I don't think so.

Shean Bostock, Madeley