I STILL FEEL SADNESS
I still feel sadness
IN the light of the sorrow shared by people here over Omagh, it seems almost trivial to talk about the impact of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and how one year on people still feel a sense of loss.
In my heart I still think that part of the great outpouring of grief we witnessed then was fuelled by anger at the Royal Family. A sort of "you won't show her adequate respect, so we will" response.
But like everyone else I was genuinely saddened by her death. And whatever is written about her, will continue to be.
This is not because I believe Diana was a saint. Or anything approaching it. But I do believe that whatever her faults, she did use her considerable influence as a power to do good. And I think that in itself is what a lot of us mourned - the passing of someone who did her bit to make the world a better place.
Mother Theresa who died just a few days later was another powerful force for good. Some would say her good deeds well outshone Diana's. Certainly she trod a more difficult path in life, choosing a lifestyle and a life's mission which would have tested most human beings.
I don't think she was a saint either. But like the Princess she was not behind the door at using her high public profile to get things done.
Sadly one year on there is no obvious successor to the throne of hearts or the champion of the gutters.
The world's most powerful woman? The death of Diana and Mother Theresa should have seen that title fall automatically to Hillary Clinton.
It says it all about the tackiness of our times, that today it seems more applicable to Monica Lcwdinski...
IN the light of the sorrow shared by people here over Omagh, it seems almost trivial to talk about the impact of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and how one year on people still feel a sense of loss.
In my heart I still think that part of the great outpouring of grief we witnessed then was fuelled by anger at the Royal Family. A sort of "you won't show her adequate respect, so we will" response.
But like everyone else I was genuinely saddened by her death. And whatever is written about her, will continue to be.
This is not because I believe Diana was a saint. Or anything approaching it. But I do believe that whatever her faults, she did use her considerable influence as a power to do good. And I think that in itself is what a lot of us mourned - the passing of someone who did her bit to make the world a better place.
Mother Theresa who died just a few days later was another powerful force for good. Some would say her good deeds well outshone Diana's. Certainly she trod a more difficult path in life, choosing a lifestyle and a life's mission which would have tested most human beings.
I don't think she was a saint either. But like the Princess she was not behind the door at using her high public profile to get things done.
Sadly one year on there is no obvious successor to the throne of hearts or the champion of the gutters.
The world's most powerful woman? The death of Diana and Mother Theresa should have seen that title fall automatically to Hillary Clinton.
It says it all about the tackiness of our times, that today it seems more applicable to Monica Lcwdinski...
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0319
Published Date: 29-Aug-98
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