As a community, political and queer activist, I see democracy as the axis around which a republic like our own revolves. It’s like a shiny beacon of light in the history of the world; enlightenment from the darkness of tribalism and freedom from the chains of colonial imperialism.
Wars, battles, struggles and lives have been fought and sacrificed for the freedom of democracy and democratic choices, voices and opportunities, and it is our moral and civil duty to not only protect it, but polish, cherish and nourish it, feeding it with fresh ideas, language, culture, laws and discoveries.
Abolition and all its finality should be saved for horrible, rotten things like fascism, racism, cronyism and other intolerable crimes against humanity. So for the Government to announce out of the blue that it wants to, with our permission, cut out an important branch of our governing system, I’m astounded and deeply concerned.
Getting rid of the Seanad would be a grave mistake. I see it as a short-sighted, cynical and self-serving attack on our democratic make-up. This Government, however popular or unpopular like every other, is transient, but abolishing a parliamentary house is permanent, wiping out a legacy and effecting generations to come.
By all means trim the fat, pull the weeds and treat the diseased bits, but there’s life and room for fresh blooms in the second house yet. In fact our entire political system needs pruning!
I am glad, though, to be living in this century. I have a hard-earned degree, a career, a fiancée, a wealth of choices and a vote. The freedom to identify as an educated, conscientiously ambitious, free-thinking lesbian woman is a luxury that only an equality-driven, democratic state could boast of.
But realistically, I have to be grateful not just to democratic values but to noisy, maverick, intelligent, diligent, philosophical pioneers like Senator Mary Robinson or Senator David Norris. Senator Robinson has become a living, breathing, change-shaping icon to more than just us here in Ireland; let’s ask our friends in Africa and other developing countries that have been touched by her humanitarian efforts. And if it weren’t for Senator Norris’ fire, I’d be a criminal or locked in a life of secrecy and shame.
The Seanad reform proposals (see ‘Open it, Don’t Close it’: tinyurl.com/kz62ppo) are radical and offer great potential. They promise of significant pay cuts, election by all citizens, gender balance and sharper, more effective teeth. But they can only come to be if we first vote ‘no’ and quash the inappropriate notion of abolition. Then we, the people, have to continue to raise our voices and let our public representatives know that we’re tired of the status quo, and being taken advantage of for being too busy surviving to decipher their methods of short-sighted, short-term game plans.
It’s time for us to inform ourselves and speak out by voting, by contacting our representatives and holding them accountable. Let them be representative of us and our diverse needs; let us help shape and re-shape the agenda for governance of our democratic republic.
The future of our democracy matters. Despondency eats democracy, but activism shapes it. Please join in by playing your hard-earned part.
Rachel Mathews-McKay is involved as an independent community activist as community campaign co-ordinator with Future Matters and Democracy Matters, the Seanad reform campaign.
