A good article by a former MHR , for whose party I have never voted . The media encourages Australians to wallow in the celebration of the Gallipoli and other campaigns in which Australians fought for the British or American empires . People are encouraged to march , wearing the medals awarded to deceased relatives , whom those marching never met .
Similarly , we are shown images showing Australians hugging each other and crying on each other 's shoulders , after every natural disaster , being told that we are so resilient , though we blame governments and greenies for every disaster and demand immediate compensation for losses suffered , even though we don't not want to insure against them , and the government did not cause the disaster .Insurance companies must pay all claimants , even though they have a good legal defence to the claim .
Send this word "resilient "along with "closure " to the trash folder . By constant use , in inappropriate circumstances , they are now meaningless.

Yes an excellent essay.
I would suggest that is also very much related to the posting by Greg Barns and Randall White: Canada and the Future of Politics.
Why?
Because those on the right specialize in the creation of the kind of self-consoling and self-congratulatory myths that were rightly criticized in this essay.

So too do those in the so-called center - even more so in 2011 when what is now called the center has shifted very much to the right in recent years.
And the fact that these myths are now deliberately used as polarizing devices which deliberately play upon and appeal to the fear based insecurities of the normal every-person.

These insecurities of course are very real.

But no REAL questions are allowed. Especially now when politics is driven by the 24/7 GOTCHA-game of the "news"-media, and the findings of focus-groups.

Parliament of course is now little more than a growling pit where adolescent hoons strut their stuff and mark out their territory by (metaphorically) pissing on each other. And in which they fight for the biggest bone (like mongrel dogs)

This essay just about floored me ! So much sense from someone so educated ? It's almost beyond belief. Good description of the mentality of the back-slapping crowd.
Why doesn't this bloke put up his hand to lead this country forward ?

An excellent article. As I have tried to point out many times on this forum the history of our nation and of most nations around the world is written in such a way as to not shatter the delusions and myths about themselves that societies prefer to believe.

In that respect history is not accurate. It seems as though historians although educated, knowledgeable, people, cannot really write history in a way that is separate from their own deeply imbedded assumptions, often influenced by popular societal thinking of the times. That is why I believe even at this moment children are not being taught reality in our schools and universities but popular idealism

A very good artictle. Life is all problem solving through critical thinking. Everything else is emotional language, and we desperately need leaders in politics, business and elsewhere able to critically thinking to save Australia's prosperity in the longrun.

able to critically thinking to save Australia's prosperity in the long run.
tet,
We'll not achieve that by not changing politicians who choose not to make discipline & learning the Constitution of this country a priority. Once we have a hold on these we can start the process of vision for the future rather than manipulate & waste good tax payer money with impunity & the prospect of promotion.