It’s getting extra close to the new Lisbon Treaty vote, and although I’m encouraged to see fewer people falling for the crap, I’m encountering whole new “no” phenomena that sadden me.
Chief among these, and one which few outside of Ireland understand (for the most fortunate of reasons), is the Belligerent No. In Ireland, we’re particularly fond of biting off our noses to spite our faces; just because we feel like we’re being asked to go one way, we’ll instead go another without thinking about which way is best for us.
This stems from a psyche we pick up in school learning all the one-sided propaganda about Ireland’s fight for independence. To the Irish, if anyone *not* Irish asks for something, it’s because they’re after our Lucky Charms and our Independence.
As far as this perspective goes, it should be clear to anyone looking at it objectively that it’s daft. The Europeans want us to vote Yes because it’s good for them…but what’s good for them is good for us, because we’re Europeans, too. When we’re asked to do something for Europe, we should remember we’re doing it for ourselves as well.
The other notion floating around, and a sillier one at that, is the “No because we said No” vote. This is based on the argument that, because we already voted no, nobody should ever again ask us our opinion on the matter. Words like “Bullying” and “Forcing” are thrown around, as if we’re somehow obliged to vote one way or another to stop the madness.
Er..not quite. We’re being asked again because it is the opinion of virtually everyone that the first vote wasn’t fair and balanced; nobody adequately understood the issues at hand, and some incredibly rich campaigners on the No side spent some foreign money on expensive posters everywhere that convinced everyone it was a Lucky Charms scenario.
Now that we understand it a little better, and now that we’ve had some clarifications on what it means to Ireland, we’re being given another chance to vote so that our actual opinions on the matter can be had. If we vote no, it’s over, a done thing.
Key to this whole argument about “Bullying” is the failure to realise that ultimately, we’re the voters and we have all the power here. So what if they’re asking us to vote again? It’s a democracy, we can vote all day if we like! It’s not even costing you anything, because everyone is entitled to an hour off for free from work just to go voting. If you’re quick about it, you get a free lunch-break with your leftover minutes. Hell, I’d love it if they kept asking. I could keep offering my opinion on the vote, and get muchos coffee après-democracy.
So, Lisbon 2. Same as the one before, which means it’s exactly as innocuous. No Militarisation, Taxation, Abortion, Euthanasia, Enslavement, Loss of Liberty, Forced Incarceration, Destruction of Rights, or any other stupidly sensationalist topics Cóir, Sinn Féin or Libertas would want you to associate it with.
Just some housekeeping that’s a decade overdue. Read up on the independently verified stuff on the Referendum Commission’s website (often mistaken for a “Yes” site because it tells the truth), or look it all up on Wikipedia and check the references, making sure they’re not political propaganda sites or personal webpages. It’s all there right in front of you; make your own decision.
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