I admire your faith in the future. I gave up many years ago on that wish coming true with both sides of the political fence dancing together.
There is no hope at all for Australia with our political elite making rules between each other which support their personal wealth.

This country is RS, and no wishful thinking will save it. Every man fir himself is it’s common anthem.

Graham says Team Reality are mostly people from the right and partly from the left who don’t fall for the absurdities of wokeism and reject internationalism, statism, and BS. Maybe. At best, when the political left and right overlap we land in the sensible centre – policies informed but not dictated by political philosophy that are practical and acceptable across party lines. But they can also converge at the fringes, and where the far left and far right overlap there are some very dark spaces. Anti-Semitism, totalitarianism, contempt for liberal democratic values, and admiration for strong-arm leaders like Putin feature on both political extremes.

Some of the examples Graham cites look like welcome moves towards the centre – the failure of MAD, a return to outcomes-based education, and a focus on basic issues like the cost of living, for example. But others are steps to the fringe – the election of Javier Milei, Brexit, and the collapse of the French government at the instigation of a far-left and far-right alliance.

Trumpism is in this latter category. I think Donald Trump will be a terrible president – even worse than in 2016 time precisely because, as Graham says, this time round he knows which levers to pull. And because his claim to have won the 2020 election is a serious attack on US democracy. And because his bromance with Putin could spell disaster for Ukraine and possibly beyond. And because his cognitive decline in recent years has been almost as obvious and scary as Biden’s.

But he may not be as bad as a re-elected Biden would have been.

I am pleased for America, but I don't see it making much difference in Wokestralia.

Rhian instead of what Graham says you best tell us what you says. We can read and we do not need parrots to tell us what graham says.
Trump is the real deal for America now. The great Us is running into a blind corner as is. Trump does not have to turn to corruption to make ends meet. So i put my backing to Trump.

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Dear Graham,

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My overall impression of Trump at this point is negative, just as my overall impression of Dutton is also negative.

The door of my mind is not locked and bolted. But it has a large sign on it marked :

« Bull Dung-ers Keep Out ! »
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Note : Dear Graham, I tried to use your term, “BS”, but the system told me to “remove the"profanity" — otherwise I couldn't post.

I guess you have a special pass.

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Generally good article, as per all of GY's articles.
GY's sometimes favours the Libertarian view over the Traditionalist one.
I disagree with the Libertarian's on the tariffs. Ayn Rand (the archetypical Libertarian) says that you shouldn't do business with those that want to destroy you. But many so called realist Libertarian's believe that they can convert Marxist's into capitalist's by giving them a taste. Marxism however isn't about helping the poor it's about helping the idealistic academy aristocrats that live in an artificial world separated from reality. Marxist's say that Libertarian's will sell you the rope to hang them with. Both these statements are synonyms. But the problem with Libertarian's is they are easily misdirected by money, believing that those with more money will always be able to buy survival- Marxist's know the fallacy of Libertarianism very well, but pretend they don't. This has enabled Marxist's to ride Libertarian's like a giant stupid animal. Libertarian's aren't stupid, but they are blind to their own weaknesses, as we all are.

Strangely there needs to be a balance between reality and idealism, between principle and practical.

Plato's Republic says that philosophers should become rulers or rulers should become philosophers. Sadly this "philosophers should become rulers" seems to justify the Marxist academic aristocracy, despite their naive un-reality. Perhaps the principle "rulers should become philosophers" is still true (perhaps all of society should know some philosophy). Maybe this is why Aristotle said that truth must be tested against reality, immortalized in Sanzio Raphael's painting The School Of Athens where Plato naively grasps the heavens, Aristotle pleading his teacher to earth. This parallel's Nietzsche's Priestly and Knightly moral codes.

Diogene's was a traditionalist who ridiculed Socrates and his eternal questions, similar to Trotsky's permanent revolution, and the Woke carping for eternal and infinite change.

Marxist's are their own gods, perhaps they aren't worthy, to submit the earth to their terror.

A government by the people requires the peoples understanding.