The almost internecine squabbles of this referendum campaign have had a tendency to obscure some of the underlying truths. For one thing, it has become harder to appreciate that the vast majority of those who intend to vote no will do so as a result of deeply held convictions. The retinue of petty hacks leading the no campaign notwithstanding, these prospective no voters are not moral outcasts, but people who, in the remaining four days of the campaign, can be convinced of the merits of the case for repealing the eighth amendment. This is, of course, even more true of undecided voters.
When the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, said that the campaign doesn’t need “jeering, whooping, hollering, laughing, sniggering”, he might have been admonishing some aspects of the no side. But his words are a reminder that in a referendum, tribalism is the best way to obscure your winning arguments – and an easy way to forget that there is a thin line between trying to persuade someone of your argument and treating them like pariahs for failing to accept it.
Harris’s own party leader, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, would seemingly have placed himself on a different side had the referendum taken place only a few years ago. If anything, Varadkar’s slow conversion is a reminder that each and every person, if their view is to shift, requires patience.
So on Friday, you should go and vote. You should vote yes. But such a directive from a staunchly pro-choice Editorial Board is hardly surprising. And while there has indeed been a lot of talk about the importance of “having conversations”, the acrimonious pitch of the campaign and the unabashed savagery of the no side in recent days make it all the more important to remind ourselves that this is how referendums are won and lost.
As activists draw on their last dregs of energy, they must bear in mind that many people have questions, fears and concerns – and that addressing them in a dignified manner can steer even the no side’s most faithful past the shoals.
