FROM Cicero's warning to Benjamin Franklin, from the Westminster Fig Tree to councillor's expenses Mr John Muir clearly considers civil disobedience will stalk the land.?Surely this cannot be the case. His tempered rage and eloquence will certainly be to no avail, it has always been thus.

This country has been at war for more than a decade, with hundreds of British service men and women being killed in conflicts in the Arabian Gulf and elsewhere, with thousands suffering serious, life changing injuries. The cost to the British taxpayer runs into billions of pounds. In Afghanistan we are in support of one of the most corrupt governments imaginable, with British servicemen being killed by their Afghan counterparts. In Libya where we recently assisted in liberating the country from their tyrannical leader members of the populace desecrate the graves of gallant British service personnel.

In Iraq Sunni and Shia Muslems continue their violence against one another, although to be frank this has diminished to some extent. We have, however, long since stopped looking for weapons of mass destruction which we were led to believe could be launched within 15 minutes.

Given the depth of anguish caused to the families of those killed and injured in these ludicrous conflicts does the great British public rise up in anger, does it stalk the land with civil disobedience? No it does not, we place flowers in tribute to the fallen, can we do less, and then stoically carry on, for better or worse with our daily lives.

I share Mr Muir's anger at the way we are 'ruled over' by politicians, the majority of whom were spoon fed from birth, and have never done a day's work in their lives.?If we however show such stoicism accepting that the Government knows best and is following 'the right policy' in the face of all logic that defies any such reasoning surely no-one is going to rise up in civil disobedience following the introduction of car parking fees in the Forest of Dean?

Mr Muir may take solace in the words of our Saviour when they nailed him to the cross, 'Father forgive them for they know not what they do.'

– 'Mac Blue,' Lydney.