People of strong principles - the kind that don't waver according to which way the political wind is blowing, or according to who is lining whose pockets, or even to the mood of the day - are rare.

This is a truth that I only figured out after I started writing this blog. Before, I belonged to that naive camp that believed people cared about right and wrong, about truth and lies, humanity, kindness and all the rest of it.

Well, they don't. Or, at least, many do not. I write this in the wake of the results of a referendum that posed one question: should we allow birds to be killed during springtime, when they are on their way to their breeding grounds, thus causing the decimation of certain breeds and eventual extinction?

I'd like to say that the result - in favour of continuing spring hunting, in case you're living in another planet- came as a surprise. But it didn't. Hope springs eternal, of course, but deep down I was painfully aware that the result was inevitable.

Why?

Because when you take away the hunters, the majority of which would have voted yes, it leaves us with a bunch of people whose lives aren't directly touched by the outcome.

Many non-hunters did not want the responsibility of taking an honest decision. After all,  they weren't getting anything out of a 'no' vote, so why risk offending their neighbour, right?

In short, many of those who did not form part of the hunting lobby did not vote according to principle, but according to convenience. Which is to say they either did not vote at all or they voted 'yes' so as not to upset the status quo. Few actually weighed in the issue, thought about the consequences and examined their conscience before taking a decision.

So yes, principles are on their way out and voting for a better society has become an alien concept for many. I witnessed this even during the run-up to the bill regulating same-sex unions, in favour of which I wrote regularly. At the time, many (strangers to me, may I add) would ask me whether I myself am gay. My negative reply invariably led to one of two reactions. I was either disbelieved, or else I would be asked -in all innocence-why did I care and why was I interfering in something that didn't concern me?

I cared because it was the right thing to do, of course. Because when someone's civil or human rights are trampled upon we should always care, even if it does not concern us directly. It is called humanity, it's called decency, it's called kindness, it's called principles.

I 'interfere'  because I genuinely believe in the issues I write about. I believe that the resolution of these issues can, for some and not necessarily for me,  spell the difference between a good life and one that is not. There are others who feel about this as strongly as I do - many, however, do not.

And that is why the hunting referendum was doomed from the start. Because of all those who lacked either the principles or the spine to follow through.

 

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