When you decide to repaint the interior of the house – with all the unpacking and packing of things and fraught decisions about what to keep and what not to keep – there are often some strange surprises.
In the midst of clearing a cupboard containing old cricket bats and tennis racquets– none of which used in some decades – there was a copy of 20 January 1990 edition of The Age. It hadn’t been saved for any newsworthy reason – simply as wrapping paper.
The English often sing There’s Always Been an England. For America the song would probably be something along the lines of there will always be an enemy.
In the US case it would be a combination of enemies – real and imagined – from both outside and inside the country. First Nations people, The British, African slaves, communists, gays, drug dealers, radical teachers, universities, woke people, civil rights activists, feminists, and many others – all have had a prime role in US paranoia at various points in history and often simultaneously.
The Australian War Memorial must be delighted with a recent Age article (Shane Wright 8/2) which gives a breathless account of a ‘new vision’ for the Australian War Memorial.
He mentions the display of helicopters, a bit of HMAS Brisbane, armoured vehicles and lots of other stuff to excite the young about weapons.
Ah – Peter Dutton loves the past when sheilas knew their place, blokes were blokes and boozy lunches were a key characteristic of the business environment.
He also seems to love the boozy tax deductible days when company staff entertained clients, or each other, and then deducted the cost from their tax. Now he wants to bring it all back by introducing a new version of that old system.
Elon Musk may not have fallen out with Donald Trump just yet, but he is definitely on the nose with the American public.
The Washington Post (28/1) recently brought together a wide variety of opinion polls on how Musk is seen. The Post says Musk doesn’t seem to have lost appeal among the Republican base, but the rest of the US population has different views. “Musk is hardly a pariah, but he is viewed increasingly sceptically”, The Post said.
Donald Trump and the MAGA gang point to the ‘massive mandate’ he obtained to justify any policy he may implement.
There is, of course, a lot of debate about so-called mandates which seem to be less about some enduring principle and more about a flexible justification for what you want to do.
But looking at the election result Trump did win a landslide in the Electoral College but in terms of the popular vote (which doesn’t count of course in the US system) it was very narrow one.
Around the world this week pundits will be reprising Tacitus’ comment – “They made a desert and called it peace”
He was paraphrasing Galgacus, the chieftain of the Caledonian Confederacy chieftain who fought the Roman army of Gnaeus Julius Agricola at the Battle of Mons Graupius in northern Scotland.
In an ideal world politics would focus on rational and intelligent debate between enlightened people – just like in Ancient Greece –without, of course, the exclusion of women and slaves. Albeit there are some serious doubts about the Liberal Party’s commitment to advancing women.
But sadly, we don’t live in an ideal world. Instead, it is a battle between competing groups – both run by apparatchiks – focussed on forgettable ‘announceables’. The politicians keep up the pretence of high-minded debate, but the real campaigns focus on offending as few people as possible and not frightening the horses by campaigning on issues about real reform – like negative gearing, capital gains tax and climate change.
The most comprehensive study of Australian social cohesion – The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute Social Cohesion Mapping 2024 Report – has highlighted strains on Australia society which are not yet dire but are disturbing.
The Institute is an annual survey which gauges Australians’ attitudes, perceptions and behaviours across 1000 indicators of social cohesion, multiculturalism, wellbeing and other topical issues. The sample size is more than 8,000 and features additional surveys of people from Indian, Middle Eastern and African backgrounds.
Everyone has the odd ‘if only’ thought from time to time.
If only you had made a different career choice, if only you had not said the things you have said, or if only you had not done some of the things you have done. All those done and not done moments – those decisions and those things you did which, when you wake up at night, have you squirming with anguish and/or embarrassment.