----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "John Maynard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 7:41 AM Subject: Re: Fools and failures [The Australian]
> Long live our ruthless leaders!!!! > > Paul Johnson > ARMIDALE NSW > Carer > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Maynard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 9:00 PM > Subject: Fools and failures [The Australian] > > > > Editorial Opinion: "Fools and failures" > > by Phillip Adams > > > > [from The Australian, 28-August-2004] > > > > Thanks to the expressed concerns of 43 distinguished daiquiri drinkers - > > and a lie-detector test - the oxymoronic idea of truth in politics is an > > election issue. > > > > It should, of course, be the election issue. Until we get at least a > little > > of it, we should replace the kangaroo and emu framing our coat of arms > with > > a used-car dealer and a crooked cop. 'Tis said that truth hurts. Truth is, > > truth helps - not just a PM's credibility, but the very survival of > society. > > > > Consider the social glues, the variety of adhesives meant to hold us > > together. Religion was long held to be a Bostik, national pride an > > Araldite, and "law and order" at least a Blu-Tak. But first and foremost, > > there was the Tarzan's Grip of trust. > > > > Now, pretty much across the board, both trust and Tarzan are losing their > > grip. The streetscape of edifices that people believed in, that seemed so > > solid and indestructible, now look like the painted canvas used in film > and > > theatre. > > > > The banks, with their Doric columns and marble halls, are now reduced to > > mere ATMs, their reputations for fiscal rectitude wrecked by greed and > scandal. > > > > The churches, with their Gothic windows and soaring spires, have betrayed > > their congregations with all those rules and regulations on human > sexuality > > made laughable by priestly paedophiles and the hierarchies' cover-ups. > > > > In the United States, the integrity of elections has been cast into doubt. > > In awarding George W. Bush the White House the Supreme Court is seen, by > > millions of Americans, as corrupt. Organisations charged with keeping the > > citizens safe - from the FBI to the CIA - have failed in their duty, > > apparently more concerned with turf wars than terrorism. And the > > misinformation they provided allowed Bush to betray the trust of the > > people, leading them into a war that a clear majority see as a > catastrophic > > mistake. > > > > Uncomfortably close to the Bush Administration, giant corporations run by > > executives paying themselves pornographic salaries have become the > > white-collar versions of Afghanistan's warlords - looting billions from > > staff and shareholders. > > > > In Australia, the healthy scepticism that should be part of our democracy > > has become carcinogenic cynicism as people, no longer willing to trust the > > prime minister, are reluctant to trust the alternative. The role of > > governor-general, itself brought into disrepute by the events of 1975, > took > > years of hard work by decent men to repair, only to be damaged again by a > > recent incumbent. And the trust that people had in their High Court was > > undermined by political campaigns on decisions such as Mabo and Wik, and > by > > attempts to smear one of the judges. > > > > And a letter from 43 members of the diplomatic and military services has > > been tabled. The upper echelons of the army, navy and air force resent > > their work being politicised and, inevitably, mired in political scandal. > > And our intelligence agencies, like their counterparts in the US, are seen > > as fools and failures. > > > > In Britain, a prime minister has lost the trust of his voters over > > enthusiasm for a war they didn't want, and over the excuses he made for > it. > > And when there were top-level investigations into the frauds and > fumblings, > > the findings are rejected as cover-ups. And the media that report on the > > wars, the churches, the corporations and the politicians aren't trusted, > > either. > > > > We live in a world of suspicions and conspiracy theories, of spin > doctoring > > and manipulation. And it extends to almost every aspect of society. > > Scientists are suspect, seen as mercenaries for the corporations, accused > > of Frankensteinian experiments on everything from human life to food. And > > once-admired universities are seen as little more than shopping malls for > > degrees, and dens of plagiarism. > > > > Can you name an organisation, an institution, that's above it all? Are > > doctors respected as they once were? The boy scouts? The police? Oh, the > > police! In almost every state of Australia the police are seen by some as > > indistinguishable from the criminals. At best, they're opposite sides of > > the same coin. > > > > The Coalition of the Willing arrived in Iraq to save the Iraqi people from > > the prisons of Saddam Hussein and then, lo and behold, we see the images > > from Abu Ghraib. Aboriginal organisations are destroyed from within by > > unconscionable behaviour. Organisations established to attack corruption > in > > public life succumb to the same temptations and are revealed as corrupt > > themselves. > > > > It is in this context that two things happen. Millions in the West become > > passive, indifferent. Millions of others, in their disgust, embrace > > fundamentalisms. They see Western societies, in their self-doubt and > > self-hatred, as diseased and decadent. And a great polarity develops, > > between the self-doubters and the certain. > > > > That's why the erosion of trust in our society, from top to bottom, is > such > > a tragedy. That's why every political lie, every piece of spin doctoring, > > is a small component in a catastrophe. Lose trust and you're well on the > > way to losing everything. > > > > "The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living > > with power to endanger public liberty." > > > > This from John Adams, the first vice-president of the US and its second > > president. > > > > I think the ayes have it. > > > > [from The Australian, 28-August-2004] > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > > John Maynard ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > PO Box 600, Cowes VIC 3922 Australia > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------ > > - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message > body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) > > See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm > > ------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
