Why Im a hypocrite

[Sebastiaan56]

As I spew my invective about our fascist government and the troubles of any number of worthy causes all over the place I keep getting this niggling little question "why dont you do something about it...?" Now this keeps me awake at night so please be patient.

The most obvious way is to join the fray either as a concerned citizen or even worse join some sort of political operation. Now lets suppose I could join the perfect party. It would actively promote peace and pull our troops out of all of the illegal operations we are engaged in the middle east. It would engage in social welfare in a kind of non paternalistic way that would empower people to live good, righteous lives. It would balance the budget and ensure fair exchange between employees and employers, etc, etc. We would protect the environment, particularly old growth forests, whilst embarking on a breeding program to grow Curly Maple, Ebony and Mahogony in Australia.

Frankly I nauseate myself when I write it all down and I cant imagine such a party. This means that I either have to start such a party or cherry pick policies I like from the offerings on the ballot paper. I used to vote informal as a protest to the shennanigans but that struck me as being inneffective. Now I work slowly through the policies and choose the lesser of evils. 30 years ago it was over the fence at the Springboks game.

Gutless huh,

Sebastiaan

[bitingmidge]

As I spew my invective about our fascist government

Sorry bloke, that's about where you lost me!

As an elderly gentleman of my acquaintence said a few weeks ago:

The difference is that when you were young, your parents and the government thought only of giving you a better education. When I (he) was young, all his family could think of was where their next loaf of bread would come from.

He lived in a peasant community in a war-ravaged country run by a truly fascist government.

Whether in jest or not, comments such as yours devalue the reality that much of the world lives in truly difficult circumstance, often under truly immoral regimes.

We have it so bloody good in this country we really shouldn't even bother voting. We only do it to give the other blokes a turn anyway. Every child player wins a prize eh?

There's a reason politicians in this country get paid less than footballers: they aren't as clever.

So no, it's not gutless..... just typical of one who has had it too good for too long!

P

[Gumby]

Sorry bloke, that's about where you lost me!

Me too.

What Midge says.

[Rossluck]

Yeah, fascism's a bit strong. How about: "our ideologically right of centre government" ....

I'm feeling relatively tolerant towards John at the moment because he's jumping on the problems faced by Aboriginal children. But one thing I always remember, Sebastian, is that a lot of the conditions we enjoy are produced in a large part by ordinary factory workers waking up to the alarm clock every morning.

These conditions for me include writing on this forum (the computer, the time and so on), and for you at least enjoying the Blue Mountains while you contemplate the difference between the world as it is, and your utopian ideal.

[dazzler]

Hi Sebastiaan

Maybe you just need to consider the govt decisions a little more to understand why they make the decisions they do. Both sides of govt are truly just as bad as each other. They want to get re-elected and so have to balance getting stuff done without annoying more than 49% of the population.

Take the Iraq war for an example of a politics at its worst. (well and truly debated on uwwf earlier). We are there because the US is there. We are allied with the US because we have no capacity to defend ourselves. We help them, they help us. (well they'll turn up late probably )

Lets not mention what the whitlam govt did to the east timorese in the name of politics.

Morally wrong, defencively strong (hey that could be a jingle )

A classic example of politics is Peter Garrett. As an activist he was strong. Becomes a politician and toes the company line. Head down, back slumped, principles dumped as he shuffles off to the house on the hill.

Also, every decision made is balanced by most on whether it fits thier particular view on life and in many cases whether they get benefit for themselves. I love the budget each year. Each group crying or clapping depending on what they got from the pie but never able to see the bigger picture.

What can you do. Not much. Perhaps volunteer to work OS with mission work. They are asking for volunteers in the NT from what I understand.

cheers