Endorsing centrist politics: Time to end a century-long faux division

Great social or political change sometimes arrives after decades of campaigning in a great carnival of marching bands, face-painting, and rainbow banners all aflutter. Like a spring tide, an idea that can be resisted no longer presses its case in a decisive, final way.

Last May’s referendum on abortion, which led to this month’s enactment of legislation, was such a moment in our history. For so long unimaginable — and forcefully blocked — that vote, in the loudest, most public and democratic way, reset Ireland’s compass, just as the marriage equality vote did in 2015.