Soapboxes, the Sun and demagoguery

“I see Michael’s back on his soap-box!” said one of my good friends last night. He gave up reading my last post, Are referendums democratic - or not? Let's get real halfway through, he said. Thanks a bunch, Boris!

 

Picture from Too Busy To Fundraise.com

I protested that it was just an argument about consistency. Anyway, today, I have a real concern, in fact a fear. It’s this. Even if there were a second referendum, for which I think are perfectly admissible justifications, there are plenty of demagogues who would take to the airwaves and all forms of media to stir up civil strife.

The Sun newspaper today employs the lurid tones of demagoguery in its comment column, “The Sun says”, headlined, “The Tories must prevent Remainer MPs from stealing Brexit from the ­British people

“What a tsunami of rage politicians would unleash by ignoring the democratic rights of millions on the winning side of the biggest vote in British history.” The article quotes the Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox accusing some of his fellow MPs of “stealing Brexit from the British people.” And it ends, “If Remain won, our democracy would be shattered, all faith in politicians destroyed. That never ends well.

“Do you think Brits are too reserved for civil disorder? Cast your mind back to the riots of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990 or 2011. Or the febrile atmosphere of the referendum, during which Jo Cox MP was heartbreakingly murdered.

“What a tsunami of rage politicians would unleash by ignoring the democratic rights of millions on the winning side of the biggest vote in British history.”

Now that, my friend, is soap-boxing. No it’s more. It’s rabble-rousing. How dare The Sun quote Jo Cox’s murder in a perversion of what she stood for? If you are looking for the roots of the populism that has undermined faith in politicians, you need search no further than the rhetoric of this flagship of Grub Street, the tabloid press. No doubt someone felt very proud of his or her vitriol, but I doubt very much if they stopped to consider whether it was contributing to the health of public discussion in the country.

Why should Great Britain be unable to hold two referendums without tearing the social fabric apart whilst neighbours such as Ireland and Denmark have done so without destroying themselves, and Switzerland repeatedly put the same questions to the nation and keep ticking along like a Rolex watch? Are we so much less civilised than them? The only reason that we might be is not that we lack reserve, but that the likes of The Sun and cabinet ministers such as Dr Fox and Mr Gove (and even the Prime Minister) embark on their own project, Project Hate, ably assisted by the chorus line of ex-ministers and politicians. If there were a referendum concerning Mrs May’s agreement, it would only be as useful and civilised as those leading the debate. It might conceivably be that those wanting a “People’s Vote” are concerned for more than wanting to remain in Europe.

It’s not enough to stick your fingers in your ears and shout, “La-la-la!”, and to hurl insults at those who want to say something you don’t want to hear. If you’re truly concerned for peace and national unity, then you have to talk and not shout, listen and not stop your ears – above all, you need to admit that you may be mistaken.

Matters of life and death

I woke on Saturday to hear two oddly juxtaposed items on the radio. The first was a discussion on Farming Today about the problem of the male offspring of dairy cows. As I understand it, the dilemma is that they’re not much good for beef and so the practice has been to kill them at birth. The spokesman for Compassion in World Farming was predictably opposed to this, and I got the impression that his view was winning traction more generally. The second was a headline item on the news immediately following it. This was about the exit polls from the Irish referendum on abolishing the Constitution’s Eighth amendment, which banned all abortions except when the mother’s safety was in danger. For this there was general approbation, implying that at last the Republic of Ireland had caught up with the modern world. Later in the day when the official result of a two-thirds yes vote was confirmed, the news included prolonged and loud celebration of the victory.

What struck me was the very peculiar dissonance of our concern for the new-born uneconomic calves and apparent disregard for unborn babies. I understand that medically provided abortion is far safer than any alternatives, and I understand that women who become pregnant against their wills have a case to be allowed to choose to continue with their pregnancy or not. I also understand those who argue for the rights of the unborn child to be taken into account. The NHS website’s description week 10 of pregnancy reads:

“The ears are starting to develop on the sides of your baby's head, and the ear canals are forming inside the head.

If you could look at your baby's face, you would be able to see an upper lip and two tiny nostrils in the nose. The jawbones are developing and already contain all the future milk teeth.

Picture from NHS website

The heart is now fully formed. It beats 180 times a minute – that's two to three times faster than your own heart.

The baby is making small, jerky movements that can be seen on an ultrasound scan.” In other words from very early on we describe a foetus as a baby.

I suppose the question is, Is it really, as I recently heard, a matter of the rights of a woman against the rights of an egg? When does a baby begin to have rights? And are his or her rights ever equal to those of the mother – or even of a new-born calf? 

And I ask myself, should the unconfined celebrations of women’s choice not have been tempered with sorrow for inevitable death of the babies whose lives will be terminated?

In this country we have seen the increasing use of abortion to kill unborn children with Down’s Syndrome and disabling conditions. We have also seen it spreading to become “on demand” and as a desperate form of contraception. I hope that Ireland never passes legislation that allows abortion to be as misused as it has become here. And personally I trust that the North doesn't get railroaded into a rush to become like the rest of the UK.