Nice letter in the Irish Times today on the wisdom of dictating foreign policy by referenda:
Sir, – The use of referendums in the formulation of public policy-making is a well established feature of Irish politics. But is this wise?
Public opinion is fickle, ill-informed, contradictory and mainly responsive to the ephemeral issues prevailing at the time. Are the chattering classes in the village square really up to the job of separating the wheat from the chaff in complex issues? As the late American comedian George Burns once remarked, it was such a pity that those who knew how to run the country were too busy cutting hair or driving cabs. – Yours, etc,
FRANK GREANEY, Lonsdale Road, Formby, Liverpool, England.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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