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The Forum > Article Comments > We 'the people': mere powerless observers > Comments

We 'the people': mere powerless observers : Comments

By Sarah John, published 30/6/2010

Voting for our leaders: it's no surprise political leadership challenges and speculation are commonplace in Australia.

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Sarah, mere powerless observers, more like corum seeking sheeple as exampled by the Monty Python dialogue below.

Reg.. You're right. We could sit around here all day talking, passing resolution, making clever speaches, it's not going to shift one Roman soldier.
Francis.. So let's just stop gabbing on about it, it's completely pointless, and it's getting us nowhere.
PFJ.. Right.
Loretta.. I agree. This is a complete waste of time.
[Judith runs in, paniced.]
Judith.. They've arrested Brian.
PFJ.. What?
Judith.. They've dragged him off. They're going to crucify him.
Reg.. Right. This calls for immediate discussion.
Jud:ith.. What?
Rebel1.. Immediate.
Rebel2.. Right.
Loretta.. New motion?
Reg.. Completely new motion. Eh, That, ah. That there be, ah, immediate action,
Francis.. ah, once the vote has been taken.
Reg.. Well, obviously once the vote has been taken, you can't act on a resolution 'till you've voted on it.
Judith.. Reg, for God's sake, let's go now, please.
Reg.. Yeah, yeah. Right, right. In the, in the light of fresh information from ah, sibling Judith.
Loretta.. [Who's taking notes.] Ah, not so fast, Reg.
Judith.. Reg, For God's sake. It's perfectly simple. All you've got to do is to go out of that door now, and try to stop the Romans nailing him up. It's happening, Reg. Something's actually happening. Can't you understand!
[She rushes out in a rage.]
Francis.. Ooh. Ooh dear.
Reg.. Hello... and a litle ego-trip for the feminists.
Loretta.. What?
Reg.. Ah, oh, sorry, loretta. Aah. Aah, read that back, would you?

We form hierarchies to direct the cause, and we become” them”. The only true revolution is the whole country sticking their heads out the window and yelling "I'm as mad as hell and I’m not going to put up with it anymore".
Posted by sonofgloin, Thursday, 1 July 2010 5:45:11 PM
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Excellent conclusion Sahra John. "The real reason why reform has not been seriously considered by Australian political parties is that people don’t demand it. Ultimately, people get the government they deserve and expect, and if we want a better standard of politics, it is incumbent on us to go out and get it!"

And regarding Freedom of Speech, I wonder why my index page wont load. [photo Cape of Good Hope SA]. You know I am rather worried about the media, Google.com.au and all the filtering within government that is going on.... I am quite concerned about the spin, the polls and the way the "local" voice has been taken over by a certain sector in the mainstream.... In terms of Google search I believe it is not half as good as it used to be.

It is getting increasingly difficult to discuss anything about anything as a voter without being seen to be against one party or another. Not good for open democracy. Not good for education or opening critical thinking which is required before we can make an educated vote.

The problems are becoming so complex... overlapping it is a lot to handle if you are a concerned voter.

http://www.miacat.com/
Posted by miacat, Friday, 2 July 2010 2:12:59 AM
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The miacat.com index page now loads, it was my fault, and reflects the problem of working with open source software. So grateful to have it but it buggers your text sometimes and tricks you on some of the loading options. I tell you this just because sometime ago, during APEC before last and other times [similar] my page had been hacked. Not this time though. It is about the transparency.

As I said, Sarah John, some good points in your article and I hope after this leadership spill there will be heated discussion on the quality of our voting system.

Politics is hard enough without this kind of caper going on. I demand a clean-up and that politics becomes more honest and safer to be part of. Politics appears to do more to divide us then help us resolve issues.... at present.

www.miacat.com
Posted by miacat, Friday, 2 July 2010 2:35:08 AM
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This is a good article with some good suggestions, but I must agree with Cornflower - I am more encouraged by these recent events than discouraged.

What seems to have been overlooked in the debate surrounding Rudd's demise is the real reasons for it. I think partly this is because it's assumed that the decision was poll driven, or a cynical election ploy to instill a fresh face and wipe away the sins of the past. I think there's an element of this, but also more fundamental concerns within the Labor Party itself.

A large part of the reason why Rudd lost the confidence of the caucus was due to his style of leadership. The evidence is plentiful, and I won't waste space listing it all, but what it amounts to is the image of a man who micromanaged and exerted a strict and narrow control over the mechanisms of Government. This is within the context of a political landscape that has increasingly seen a centralisation of power within the executive. Our Democratic institutions are designed precisely to avoid this - and they have been eroding steadily since Whitlam took office. This 'coup' was encouraging because it showed that the intention of our Democratic system - a disbursal of power across Parliament - still remains, despite wider trends.
Posted by Grayzie, Monday, 5 July 2010 2:07:38 PM
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