Sir, - In a recent book by Larry McMurtyon the Indian Sioux warrior, Crazy Horse, I came across the following:
"Around 1865 the Oglala Sioux revived the old custom of the Shirt-Wearers. The Oglala society of elders, sometimes called the Big Bellies and sometimes called other names, sat down and chose four young men of proven courage and good moral character and honoured them by making them Shirt-Wearers. Their duty, from then on, was to put selfish interests aside and think always of the welfare of the tribe. Their duties were as much moral as practical; they were, in our terms, to be role models, to set examples of how Sioux men should behave".
Wouldn't it be nice if our Coq Hardi-fed, political Big Bellies, sometimes called by other names, could learn a lesson from the "noble savages" and select their Shirt-Wearers with the same care! - Yours, etc.,
Brian Fisher, Foxfield Park, Raheny, Dublin 5.