My Own TV Show and The Lisbon Treaty

Could I possibly have been any more morose and depressing in some of my previous posts?

Dear God in heaven above - what was I thinking! And all that over something so insignificant and ridiculous as some blip of of the male species, who, now that I have taken off those rose-tinted glasses, actually turns out to be the spitting image of that eagle-type character from the Muppets, or a mole. (take your pick)

Please God I will never return to such ridiculous levels of 'woe is me,' very unattractive and at the end of it all, no one cares that much about my inner most feelings. Not even me. So here we are, at the risk of sounding...like I'm the star of my own American teen drama...a new era of my life. xoxo (just kidding).

Speaking of American teen dramas, and being the star of one, I really do believe that my group of friends and I should star in our own drama. Think about it: our lives are ridiculously dramatic in all kinds of ways. Whether it's love triangles, family issues or a mixture of both - we've got it all. Think about it; no one writes or discusses or portrays the lives of our age group in Ireland today. There are no books, or TV series or movies, and I think it's about time there was. I think we should have a voice, and I think that voice would be very entertaining. No one has a clue what goes on with us 'young folk' these days. It's not easy to be 'young folk' these days, despite what any of the older folk say. Apparently we've never had it easier, and I can see where they're coming from to an extent, but they have no idea of the pressures we're under that didn't even exist when they were our age. Maybe I'll write a book, or an article or some such. I know Una is working on some kind of screen play type thing. She has some great ideas. I hope she follows through on it.

Also, the Lisbon Treaty. I still can't wrap my head around it. I got a booklet today in the post, but trying to read it (and understand it) is nigh on impossible. It's like random groups of words put together on the page. I know they make sense; I just can't figure out what sense.

I've watched debates and read articles and anything I can get my hands on in an effort to understand so I can make an informed decision, but they're not making it easy for me. Added to that, every politician in the country seems to be completely dismissing my age group. According to one woman on The Last Word on Today FM, we couldn't give a rats ass. This annoyed me greatly as the general consensus among the people I know isn't that we don't give a rats ass but that we've no idea what it's all about. Maybe if they tried harder to convey clearly what exactly it's all about instead of trying to use scare tactics or instill a false sense of patriotism we'd be better able to voice our opinions on the matter as opposed to remaining silent and intimidated by the whole thing. Many people of my peer group will not vote simply because they're too afraid to, and no one appears to be doing anything to change that. It seems as if the powers that be are happier to keep us in the dark; one would wonder why.

As it stands for me, personally, at this moment in time, I have not been given any strong reasons to vote no. The Sinn Fein tack of 'people died for your freedom' holds no water with me. I sympathise greatly with the people who died for my freedom and I'm very grateful to them for it, it has to be said and if anyone was to say "Ireland, that's part of the UK, right?" I'd be very quick to cut them down. It was a long time ago though, and saying will not mean we will be overtaken by another nation and relinquish our democratic rights.

Another NO camp: the Pro - Life crowd. Personally, I do not know whether or not I would have an abortion. There are issues surrounding it that make me very uneasy. The fact that in some countries you can have one up to three months is terrifying. I do however, believe that it is an ethical issue personal to every individual, and they should have the right to chose. The fact is that there are situations wherein I would be very likely to have an abortion. As it stands now, there are hundreds if not thousands of young girls flying to England hidden in disgrace and flown back just as fast. They miss out on important care before and after. There can be serious mental implications in having an abortion and when it all happens so fast, as is definitely the case with many girls (and women, I daresay) this goes without checking and can result in serious break down. If we were to legalise abortion (which I hasten to add, may not actually be the case if we vote yes, there is no guarantee that the EU will bring it in, it is only being suggested by some groups) it would make everything much easier for women already going through a traumatic experience; and regardless of whether or not they do legalise abortion, women WILL continue to go abroad or find other places in Ireland (one dreads to think) where they can get one without the appropriate care.

Another reason people are giving for saying no: military action, in particular in relation to Article 12. Apparently this article means that we will lose our neutrality and have to go to war if the EU decides to go war. This is not the case. We will have a veto and thus maintain our neutral status.

The above are the only reasons people have come up with for saying no. Not one of them, for me, are strong enough.

I had still not made up my mind to vote yes or no (despite trawling through The Times special) when I saw Garrett Fitzgerald on the news. A great politician of his day, and a brilliant mind, I listened to what he had to say and what he said made a lot of sense.

The original EU constitution was written up a long time ago for far fewer countries than are members now. It does need an over haul. The times we live in now are very different. The social and economic plane of the world is vastly different. We simply cannot continue to work under an archaic constitution. (One might say the same of this country's constitution, but that's another argument for another day). That is one very good reason to vote yes.

I still feel under-informed, and will be hesitant on voting whether or not I've really made the right decision. However, unless something much more solid comes up, I have not been given a reason to vote no, and have at least one steady reason to vote yes. Who knows what anyone else will do, for most are just as confused, if not more so, than I.