A couple of weeks ago, I commented among friends in response to this article in The Irish Times, and specifically the quotes from our Minister for Finance (and Fine Gael member) Michael Noonan. His pathetic, transparent attempts to butter up the electorate and play on our egos made me sick, quite frankly, and it prompted me to get some things off my chest.
With today being the day we go to the polls, I think it bears repeating:
I’m seriously considering writing ‘Fuck you’ on the ballot paper. There’s nothing democratic about this referendum, it’s the illusion of choice. Only the whims of the banks and the markets will dictate where Ireland and Europe go from here; is the Government completely ignorant of this, merely naive, or in on the take? Take any one of those three, it doesn’t matter — the powers that be (there’s a conspiracy-theory phrase for ya!) are trying to convince us, the citizenry, that the decision is in our hands, so that when we make a bad one they can pin the blame on us. Fuck that shit.
A lot can change in two weeks, especially with a decision as complicated as this one (and that’s the point really, as it’s so complicated that it’s quite unfair to expect the electorate to make a truly informed decision). I remain convinced that whatever way we vote, it will be effectively meaningless in terms of the economic situation in the long run.
But if there is something to worry about, it’s the notion of changing our constitution to institutionalise a system that’s clearly failing.
Think about it.