One of my favourite mantras is this: “I don’t need to jump off a cliff to know what will happen if I do!”

I tend to use this during heated arguments with people who claim to know more than me just because they’ve experienced something that I haven’t. But the truth of the matter is that they do know more than me but I’m just too presumptuous to admit it.

Of course, I’m not about to play the holier than thou card here, so I’m not going to say that unless you’ve experienced something firsthand, then you have no right to comment or to have an opinion about it, but let’s face it, if you needed advice on something important, wouldn’t you get it from someone who has had some experience in the matter?

Would you go to a criminal lawyer for advice on your tax returns?

Would you go to a mechanic for advice on your second stage melanoma?

Would you go to an economist to baby sit your child?

So why, oh why, do we go to the Church for advice on marriage and divorce?

Priests, Bishops, Archbishops, Popes, and all the other members of the clergy have no experience whatsoever in marriage, let alone a failed one. Theoretically they shouldn’t even have had firsthand experience in any form of long term romantic relationship, or at least, not recent enough for it to be relevant.

I know, some of you are going to fall all over yourselves to quote the bible at me, and some of you will tell me that members of the clergy are well-read, educated philosophers, who have a lot of contact with different types of people, but seriously, would you go to a well-read professor of theology to cut your hair, then why would you go to a clergyman for advice on marriage and divorce?

Because of JPO’s bold move, this week everybody and their mothers are writing and talking about divorce. And because I’m not married, and unlikely to ever be, I was about to let this slide. But then I thought, if the inexperienced clergy can have a say, why shouldn’t I?

JPO on the other hand, has firsthand experience, not only in marriage, but more precisely in one which failed. He has taken the time and effort to draft this bill even at the risk of being accused of pushing something for individual gain, and of being ostracized by his hypocritical mates in blue. Ahead he went, and for his courage, I went from thinking very little of him (because of the infamous Mistra tears), to wiping his slate clean and being totally behind him.

A few months ago Joseph Muscat had promised that when he became prime minister he would put forward a Private Member’s Bill on divorce. Clearly he chose to wait not to risk losing yet another election by alienating his core traditional supporters and those traditional nationalists whose vote he is after, but at least, he came out and publically stated his personal opinion on such a controversial matter. That much we have to give him!

Some coaxed him to put the bill forward whilst still in opposition, but in reality this wouldn’t have done anyone any good because only a small proportion of Private Member’s Bills ever make it through, and hardly ever without the support of the Government. Very rarely, a government chooses to back a Private Member’s Bill to ensure its implementation, but in this case, our Prime Minister is happily married and thinks it wrong to allow other consenting adults to free themselves from a failed disastrous marriage where the only warm hug comes in the form of a burning toaster flying across a room.

Gonzi’s opposition to this bill is of course more politically correct. His pseudo dilemma lies in the fact that the PN was not given a mandate to introduce divorce. Of course it wasn’t given a mandate to change the entrance to Valletta, nor to build a new parliament, nor to increase the water and electricity tariffs, or to send immigrants back to Libya, but they went ahead with those non-mandates anyway!

To make matters worse, some silly gits are now suggesting a referendum. I was hoping that Joseph Muscat would come out and say something here because he believes that referenda should not be imposed on minority groups and their rights. Whilst I’m in full agreement with this, where is the PL? Where have they all gone? Are they still in shock? Or are they still celebrating the fact that JPO has taken the flak in their stead?

It is usually those who oppose minority rights that call for a referendum, because whilst voting seems democratic, in the case of minority rights it is deeply unjust. When the issues are human rights, like freedom of religion and freedom of speech, they should never be decided by means of a majority vote.

Of course, none of us should hold our breath for a solution. If history is anything to go by we will be going round in circles for a while longer. Then, finally, when we’ve all had enough, the same thing that had happened with the illegality of contraceptives will finally happen with divorce. All’s left to do in the meantime is to guess whether we’ll beat The Philippines to it or not.

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