At this stage you’ve probably made your mind up.
You probably just want this whole thing to be over with. And it will be soon, so long as you vote. The point of a referendum is that the government want to change an inherent facet of our constitution and are asking for our permission to move forward with it. We actually have an opportunity to agree with our croney-laden administration on something, we might as well use it.
What’s clear is that the No Vote is a lot more prominent than the open discourse would have us believe. They’re conspicuous by their silence but, come Friday, their opinions will be every bit as loud as the most vocal Yesser.
If social media was representative of society in general, there would never be any need for a referendum. Everywhere you look people have Tá tapered all over their profile. That’s fine, but it’s not a vote. That might sound obvious, but rational thinking doesn’t always prevail when it comes to democracy. Just ask the UK, with their newly incumbent bastardized Tory government – it’d be labelled a fix if it wasn’t so clear that the crucial demographics never bothered to vote.
The outcome of this referendum is dependent on turn-out, not opinion.
What we’re dealing with here is a conflict of belief. We all know a few people who are voting No. And, no matter how sound our reasoning as we try to talk them down from that shaky moral ledge, they’re not going to budge. It’s not an opinion that’s based on bigotry or even malice, they’re predominantly good, perceptive people with no conscious desire to harm or infringe on any ones freedom. But they think society is working just fine the way it is, so there’s no need for basic change. They’re wrong, and because they are generally of the older generation, they’re not espousing their views for all to see on Facebook. But that same generation is responsible for the highest voting quota, so they will be heard whether it suits you or not.
Think how it will impact our reputation internationally if we don’t let this amendment pass. What it will say about is as a country, that some of our brightest young people will inevtiably decide to leave because our constitution refuses to recognize them as equal? Take Russia as an example. As far as most people are concerned that place is a turgid cesspool of discrimination who routinely isolate and punish people for being gay – when in reality it is the elite few at the top who perpetuate the abuse.
For those that are just not comfortable with the existence of homosexuals, voting No isn’t going to make them disappear. But if you vote Yes and give them the same rights as everyone else, you might just stop hearing about them.
So people will always have beliefs that are at odds with our own, but there’s no need to judge when a trip to the ballot box can put it right. As a ‘lost generation’ our capacity for significance has become lost in the myre, but we have the opportunity to do something important here. Take it.
Vote.