BY THE time this is published the result of the General Election, and who will be at the helm at number 10 for the next 5 years, will be known.

We will be looking to the PM and his or her government for support and guidance with what is at stake: Brexit, the overworked and underfunded NHS, and terrorism being the standout issues of the moment. 

These issues bring with them increasingly high levels of despair, confusion and frustration. Efforts to overcome these feelings were movingly displayed by the citizens of Manchester who came together to share their grief. 

Who can forget the reading by the Mancunian poet Tony Walsh on the steps of Manchester Cathedral in the evening following the appalling events at the Manchester Arena? The message was movingly conveyed: do not give into your feelings of despair, instead unite and celebrate the achievements of our great city and its cultural richness. 

Nowadays it seems advocates of peace and harmony are placed in ever closer proximity to advocates of destruction and evil. We all have to make choices which can be either deeply inspiring or deeply flawed and they may badly affect, or even destroy, the lives of others. 

In a society where we all live together peacefully, it is essential to find and implement the least aggressive and most conciliatory method of resolving conflict and discord.

And nothing is more important than to raise awareness in children from a very early age that a peaceful path is the most hopeful, most inspiring, and the least destructive choice to take. 

CAROLINE YOUNG
Cirencester Quaker Meeting House