Not since the civil war have the young been so active in the shaping of the future of our nation. Back then Ireland was a bastion of social progress; women had the vote, though it would be many years before they were equal. Be that as it was they fought that war as equals against families and neighbours for what they believed in. This left a gaping social scar on our national psyche for decades.Those young people held the courage of their convictions to build an Ireland that would become the Republic in 1949 and a republic that cherishes all of its children equally by 2015 (constitutionally at least).
Campaigners in the Marriage Equality referendum held the same courage of their convictions to go and fight another war. This time it was not a bloody war, it was a war for the hearts and minds of the nation. The no campaign didn't engage in the ground war as vociferously as the yes campaign, one can only assume because they didn't have the same support. They were afraid of the response they would get, but what they failed to realise is the yes campaign had much hurt to fear from a negative response, a negative response for the yes campaign would be personal, devastating; for the no campaign they had nothing to fear and I believe in the end that's where the innate decency of the Irish people won out.
I had many issues with my co-conspirators on the yes campaign. We had the truth on our side and should have left the bitterness and lies to the no campaign. There was a higher turnout and a higher margin to be had, but what's done is done and I certainly won't be crying over spilt milk.
To the point of this post:
Ireland has witnessed a revolution in the activism of its youth. Our youth has discovered that knocking on a door isn't scary as they may have thought. I've been enjoying canvassing for almost 10 years now and this campaign gave me an opportunity to put that experience in action, leading a canvass sweeping through housing estates in 45 minutes that could tie up an inexperienced campaigner for 2 hours plus, vital hours for the campaign. Those who didn't feel confident to knock found a place on the campaign, something they may not have known was possible before the superb YES Equality campaign led by GLEN and the ICCL. Hat tip to Tiernan Brady.
I heard many people say that they have voted now and they feel they probably won't again, the activism of this campaign shows that our youth do care when it affects themselves, their friends, their family, their neighbours, and even strangers who needed the help.
I believe in our democracy, more importantly, I feel many who got involved in this campaign have other issues which they care about, they may not be causes, but as was discovered during the Marriage Equality campaign you do not need to knock on doors to get active. I first came to politics 13 years ago. I was much more active than your average 15 year old in pestering local TDs on proper legislative issues (they don't exist to fix potholes and footpaths - phone your council offices).
My passion as a teen was cars and I found a way to make a proposal to my TDs that involved something that gave me an opportunity to fangirl on cars. I sent my proposal to all 5 TDs in my constituency one replied. Though I couldn't vote for him, he invited me to his office to talk about my idea and once inside I suddenly understood that politicians are normal people too. Over the next 7 years I supported that TD until he was decimated in the Fianna Fáil revolution of 2011, yes, the only one to respond was a Fianna Fáil TD, and that's likely the only reason I joined Fianna Fáil. I stayed for various other reasons, but this is not a party political broadcast.
My call to action:
If you campaigned in 2015, on doors, online, packed envelopes, dropped leaflets, you are part of the political system now: stick with it. If your life is sport, campaign on sport and health; if your life is fashion, campaign on business and innovation; if your life is unemployment, take your campaign to the politicians who speak on social protection and jobs. Whatever you do; please stay engaged or Ireland returns to politics as normal. I will not push anyone towards any political party, but I will say pick one. Independents (with notable exceptions - Norris, Zappone, Murphy) lack the national focus that the Dáil and Seanad exist to serve. I believe (feel free to decide otherwise) that if you want a local politician, put them on your county council, not in the Dáil. Our country has suffered enough from local politics on a national stage.
Say YES Engagement, stay involved
