At risk of stating the obvious, it’s fair to say the state of politics and public discourse in Northern Ireland right now is depressing and embarrassing in equal measure.

The consistent inability of political representatives to reach beyond soundbites and whataboutery shows how leadership and accommodation continue to come a very distant second to massaging the desires of one’s electoral base.

Despite being on the cusp of embarking on a truly meaningful conversation about the creation of a new Ireland, with the potential of a referendum on unity within the next decade, one of Northern Ireland’s Member of the European Parliament, Martina Anderson, still couldn’t resist the repetitive shouts of ‘Tiocfaidh ar la’ at a Republican commemoration event yesterday.

The language simply mirrored the political populism we see sweeping the western world. When faced with a choice of delivering a constructive “one step further” message or merely standing and bellowing a message that guarantees cheers with little thought of the consequences, the latter more often than not seems to prevail.

In truth, yesterday’s display was no different to the spouting emptiness from little Englander Brexiteers or the cries of ‘No Surrender’ from the DUP on the benches of Westminster – all echoing sentiments of yesteryear, whilst delivering nothing for the generations of today.

Yet, just last week at one of the impressive Féile an Phobail discussion events entitled ‘Ireland’s Future Discussion: A Protestant Perspective’, I was genuinely surprised and pleased to see Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill MLA and Conor Murphy MLA come along to listen intently to what was said.

Then, within a matter of days, we hear the same old rhetoric that either frightens unionism away from engaging or gives those totally intolerant to the discussion a stick to beat nationalism with.

We are coming to a crossroads in this debate, one where the reliance on demography, over the willingness to engage in an open and welcoming conversation on all sides, is going to force this progress into the ground once more.

Please, for the love of all things 32 county, can we not just do this better?