There’s a growing sense that Western Civilization is in decline. Our national news and social media are choking with negative stories and expressed fears. We elevate slights to national outrages and make trends out of singular experiences.

Ireland’s recent vote to embrace legalized abortion is a perfect example of how our misplaced focus is causing people to miss the reality around them.

Ireland’s constitution specifically recognized the right to life of children in the womb. On May 25, two-thirds of Irish voters scrapped the amendment. Their decision doesn’t make sense when you examine the state of Irish society. Abortion supporters were able to distract the focus of voters.

Irish voters were told that their prolife law was oppressing women. In reality, the European Union’s European Institute for Gender Equality shows Ireland to be above the European average in their measures of equality between the sexes. Most European nations embrace elective abortion.

Irish voters were told women were dying because of their prolife law. In reality, pregnant women are nearly twice as likely to die in the U.S. than in Ireland, even with America’s extremely permissive abortion laws.

If you wanted to look throughout the planet and see the best example of a nation thriving while also protecting the right to life of every human being in their society, Ireland was that example.

While many Irish voters believe they’ve finally thrown off the yoke of Catholic oppression and struck a blow for women everywhere, in reality they have completely lost focus on one real threat to their future prosperity.

Here’s a story that received little focus in the last few days: Medicare will enter bankruptcy in eight years, even faster than projected. We have so few young people (58 million less in America because of abortion) that we can’t afford our old-age entitlements anymore—painful changes are coming.

Ireland, the rest of Europe, eastern Asia: these countries are similarly struggling with maintaining strong economic growth in the face of aging demographics. Most have embraced abortion. Most of their people focused on the population explosion in the last century as a looming disaster of epic proportions, rather than a welcome sign of technological progress and improving prosperity.

Ireland could not focus on reality, their economic future, or even on protecting the lives of their next generation. Instead, two-thirds of Irish people focused on the make-believe benefits of joining a culture of death.