Irish Examiner view: Do your bit. Cast your vote
Ireland The Opinions Is Opportunity Friday For Parties Voice And To An Of Their Our People Leaders On Their Political
Now that the election campaign is nearly over and all the shouting, finger-pointing, back-stabbing, and bickering is winding down, it is worth considering the importance of what comes next.
Friday is an opportunity for the people of Ireland to voice their opinions on our political leaders and their parties — not to mention their policies — and express their preferences as to the make-up of the next government.
The political system in this country is such right now that the prospect of any single party forming a government on its own is a virtual impossibility and makes the votes cast, especially down the ballot paper, a hugely important factor in deciding who will assume the reins of power in the next administration.
Speculation as to who that might be has engaged us since the election was called three weeks ago and will undoubtedly continue to do so not only until the voting papers are counted, but right up until the smoke clears and the parties sit down to discuss and agree a workable programme for government.
All that being the case, the single most significant role Irish people can play in the process is to vote.
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Far too many nations around the world do not afford their populations the right to vote and, for a small democratic republic like ours, that right is a very precious thing indeed.
It is worth reminding ourselves that not only here in Ireland, but all over the globe, people have fought and died to establish that right and it is not something to be dismissed out of hand. It is something priceless and should be valued as such.
It is incumbent on each of us therefore to exercise our franchise, go to the polling station and express our views.
Those who do not will have no moral grounds for complaint about either the process or the result.
So, enjoy going out to make your views known and take pride in the fact that your opinion will play a part in a process which is a cornerstone of democratic governance.
All citizens cannot make a direct contribution in every decision made in a democracy, but they can decide who is making the decisions and that is where we, the people, come in. Do your bit.
Now that the Israel and Hezbollah ceasefire has taken root and appears to be holding, the focus of the world must be on attaining the same result in Gaza.
The ceasefire in Lebanon is long overdue, but must be followed by Hamas coming to the table and Israel bringing a halt to this gratuitous war it has waged on Gaza that has seen children bear a large brunt of the death and misery inflicted there rather than Hamas operatives.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah has any legitimate reason to declare any type of victory with this ceasefire.
Initial examination of the situation suggests that while there are no winners, Israel has certainly inflicted strategic damage on Iran, as one of its main proxies has now agreed to a ceasefire. It also indicates that Hezbollah has abandoned Iran’s Gaza-based proxy, Hamas.
Whether this will bring Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire too is still in question.
Also now in question is what will become of the war crime charges against Israel’s leaders and if the International Criminal Court will pursue prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammad Deif.
The hope now is that the deal between Israel and Hezbollah will hold, at the very least, and that a similar ceasefire can be agreed between the Israelis and Hamas.
After that, media being allowed unfettered access to Gaza and a thorough interrogation and prosecution of any and all war crimes committed, the ordinary people of Palestine, Israel, and the wider Middle East need a plan for a lasting peace.
Derided by many as a cheap sop to their overblown rock ‘n’ roll egos and wallets, and a patronising insult to the hundreds of thousands of people then dying of starvation in Ethiopia, the Bob Geldof/Midge Ure-helmed Band Aid single "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" remains one of the greatest charity efforts of all time.
Some 40 years after it was first recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, the song has raised €22.8m alone in record sales, inspired the USA For Africa and Live Aid concerts (which themselves generated €142.4m), and spawned lucrative re-releases every decade since.
The then Boomtown Rats frontman, Geldof, and Ultravox band member Ure were shocked after seeing coverage of the famine on BBC news and got the idea of writing a song, to be sung by contemporary stars, to raise cash to aid relief in Ethiopia.
Influenced by the reporting of Michael Buerk from Ethiopia, Geldof and his then partner, the late Paula Yates, decided to put together a smorgasbord of rock talent to try and raise cashGeldof wrote the words and Ure put them to music.
The rest is history, and while the duo raised a phenomenal amount of money, they also came under fire for making a “cosmetic spectacle” of world hunger, as well as creating what Morrissey described as “the most self-righteous platform ever in the history of popular music”.
Geldof was then — and remains now — defiant in his defence of what he created and maintains it created an important part of modern political discourse, as well as having saved millions of lives.
That the record is still provoking controversy — Ed Sheeran’s recent comments about the 40th anniversary reissue being the most recent — illustrates just how relevant it was then and remains now.