This is the end, beautiful friend ...

Yep folks, the writing is on the wall for the Ireland that many of us once knew. Recent events are accelerating that process and a critical mass is about to be reached. The future looks decidedly grim for those of us still trying to live as we should.
 Yeh I know the inevitable chorus will start braying! Stick in the mud, reactionary, blah blah blah. Before this starts let me ask the question.  Was the old Ireland perfect? Hell no! There were loads that was wrong, it was the land of twitching curtains, of parish gossip, of a clerical caste that could do wrong and arrogantly and stupidly believed in power. Cultural Catholicism prevailed,  behaviour was governed by peer pressure and  alas, in the vast majority of cases not built on any moral or spiritual foundation.
  What was the result? Well at the first chance they threw off the perceived shackles and became uber-sophisticated modern world citizens as fast as they could. Of course if you want to prove your credentials then you will be as vehement and as spiteful as possible about what came before, the church boo hiss! You will, in a muted tone of embarassment reject your past behaviour, assert that you were always a rebel and never really believed, then prove your worth by calling for the banning of religion and lay the blame for the state of the country firmly at the feet of the Church.
    When you have demonstrated your bona fide loyalty to the modern  world, proven that you are an individual, then you can safely do exactly what the elites tell you to do, secure in the knowledge that there are millions like you, all those individuals doing the same thing. So naturally you will vote yes to the children's referendum, since the establishment asked for it and you will emote tremendously and protest loudly for a change in the laws of the state, rather than waiting for the true picture to be revealed of a tragic situation that has befallen a young couple and their child. Why? Well because it appears that everybody else is watching you and you don't want to appear uncouth or (God forbid!) backward. You've been told how beautiful and sleek and modern the rest of the world is, and you want to be seen as beautiful don't you?
      Democracy  is highly overrated, but it still is preferable to the oligarchy that is consuming the republic,  indeed soon it will become a misnomer to describe this country as a republic.  When voters and campaigners who supported the No campaign, are described by prominent people as "extremist" and that their" views should be disqualified from any future referenda", then the end of the line has been reached. Even when victorious the oligarchy are still consumed with hatred for those who would have the temerity to disagree with their superior intellect. They know what is best for you, you pleb, they have the blueprint and you are the poor sap who will build and will pay for their flawed vision.
   The end is nigh for that which made Ireland what it used to be, but what do you care?  You're too busy trying to be beautiful!