The consequences of a NO victory

Anybody imagining that it will be business as usual if the no camp wins the day on May 28 is living under an illusion. For this is not a case of accepting a democratic decision like that expressed in any general election.  A no victory will an act of  imposition of the moral  values of the majority on minorities.  Impositions usually leave scars which are not easily healed.

That is why in a normal country divorce would have been approved by parliament as a civil right and not submitted to a referendum. But since that is no longer an option the only way to avoid an imposition of values is through a yes vote.

For a  no victory  will sacrifice the happiness of the few in the name of ideology; an abstract  'common good' defined according to the religious prejudice of a coterie of priests and conservative businessmen and politicians.  This will generate a sense of resentment and polarisation in what could presage a cultural divide between a resurgent fundamentalism and angry secularists.

We may even see the emergence of an aggressive anti clericalism, which has been remarkably absent in the present campaign where extreme opinions were  more a prerogative of the lunatic fringe of no camp symbolized by the Kristu bla Divorzju bill boards, Angelique's prophecies and Tonio Fenech's invocation of the Virgin Mary.  Galvanised by victory, this loony fringe will remain a thorn on the church’s side for decades to come.

On the other hand the church will find it easier to dispose of these elements by blaming the yes victory on their extremism.

As a secularist I have always been wary of rabid anti-clericalism, which in its irrationality could erode those positive humanistic values of universal brotherhood and sisterhood upheld by Christianity.

On the other hand the approval of the conservative and mild form of divorce envisioned in the referendum question will have a tonic effect on Maltese society. It will signal a slow peaceful and gradual evolution towards Europeanization where Christians can live their values without feeling any need to impose them on others.

Ultimately a yes victory will  give people who are presently suffering a second chance to happiness, thus making them less bitter in their feelings towards the establishment.  In the short term the passing of the divorce law  may well result in the celebration of a record number of marriages as the forced cohabitants of today are recognised by the state as legitimate spouses-something which is bound to increase the  feel good factor in the country.

A yes victory will leave the church in a better position to become more relevant in society  by turning its focus away from people’s bedrooms towards more serious concerns  like poverty, human rights and immigration. For it is on issues like immigration that humanistic values are being seriously eroded. Freed from the burden of power and imposition, the church can reconnect with the poor and the disenfranchised.

Ultimately the major issue facing us on May 28 is whether we should continue denying people a second chance to happiness. Reinforcing that ban is an act of cruelty which is bound to have consequences.  Conservatives  who believe in social stability should think twice before casting a no vote which could be far more divisive than a yes vote.