Dear Squeers,

I probably would agree with Hume, opinions often seem to be just the fingernails of attitudes, good for poking and prodding and picking ones nose, but just dead skin-cells after all.

Attitudes are primarily formed by experiences. I have had just enough success on achieving things with politicians to be positive about the power of the 'everyman', given the inclination, to progress issues and bring about change.

Most politicians I know are to some degree insecure and in need of affirmation from the public. That they are delivered up to us like this is one of our system's saving graces.

As a young man I was quite frustrated with democracy in action but having been a member of community groups and sporting boards I have grown to appreciate how it involves so many of our citizens and serves to get things done in so many areas of our communities. I love watching it in action. Evolution rather than revolution sounds like such an old person's 'comfort' cliché but having children makes one wish it for their lives.

So when you say “The trouble is that democracies are no longer radical and elections provide a wealth of empirical data to the contenders.” I can only reply “Thankfully!”. However let a government try and dismantle Medicare for instance and we will see radical. We certainly remain capable of it and I see the Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum effect as evidence of the restrictions we put on those contenders.

So while we might be getting played to some degree I think it works both ways and really both sides know it.

Or I might just be suffering from the twin attitudinal pathologies of optimism and idealism.

Dear csteele,

You wrote of spirits visiting in the night. I do not believe in any sort of supernatural being, but I have had two odd experiences. One night I awoke possibly around 2 am. I remembered a dream of being in a room with flickering lights. I looked up at the ceiling which was made of doors fitted together. In the cracks between the doors I could see there was a raging fire.

When I got up I looked at the news on the computer. It told of airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center buildings in NY city. It was 9/11 in the US and 9/12 in Australia.

''Or I might just be suffering
from the twin attitudinal pathologies of optimism and idealism.]]

it isnt your fault
it was written in the stars

this is the 'joining'
of jupiter with mars

the birth..of the age of aquarius
[the stars line up...and apparently
do a clever dance in so doing for a few more days yet]

but heck
its friday the 13 th
so expect some dark thoughts today

csteele:

"So when you say “The trouble is that democracies are no longer radical and elections provide a wealth of empirical data to the contenders.” I can only reply “Thankfully!”. However let a government try and dismantle Medicare for instance and we will see radical. We certainly remain capable of it and I see the Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum effect as evidence of the restrictions we put on those contenders".

The restrictions we put on the contenders is surely nothing more than "Conservative democracy", as complacently self-validating as any monarch who draws his legitimacy from divine appointment. Bourgeois complacency is no less conceited. Nevertheless this might be considered all to the good and its institutions part of a generally salubrious vitality, that is if there was no pressure on it to change--conservatism abhores change.
But what if radical change is vital?
The problem is that there is a great deal of empirical evidence insisting on the need for change, that the current state of affairs is drastically unsustainable and unethical in many ways.
The essence of conservatism for mine is pig-headedness. Empirical evidence cannot compete with its conceits--the manifold "contradictions and imperfections in human reason" that Hume bemoans. These may easily rationalise the most dire threats, especially when technical ignorance prevails, as for instance it does with the science of AGW: a conservative, contented and ignorant democracy gets to decide on such matters.
Institutions, including patriotism (getting back on topic) are the glue that holds it all together. However antiquated, mystical, unethical or downright vile, they're rarely interrogated or gainsaid.
Humanity is no longer governed by kings and queens in sprawling kingdoms fringed with forest, we're now great unwieldy leviathans, bodies of billions. Somehow we have to abandon our outdated institutions and learn agility in response to the momentous effects which no longer just happen, but which we precipitate.
Living in a fantasy world of chivalry, like Don Quixote, is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Sorry it sounds like a sermon.

Dear csteele,

Thanks for the link. I'm not a great hiker - but I do enjoy my local evening run. The most spectacular place that I've hiked around in Australia was Cradle Mountain in Tassie. One of my favourite overseas places to visit was - Yosemite National Park in the US. Lake Louise in Canada and Banff National Park were also awesome. One day I hope to make a trip to the outback here in Australia and take in the natural wonders.

Talking about oral histories. I did my work experience at the State Library of Victoria and they gave me the job of cataloguing the oral history collection. Listening to people's experiences was an extremely moving and educational experience.

Dear Lexi,

The 'outback' is a truly marvellous place, I have visited a reasonable portion of it and a favourite place is Karajini National Park in WA. The very deep red canyons with their mirror smooth walls are very evocative.

Dear davidf,

While you say you do not believe in a supernatural being what you have described can only be labelled as a supernatural occurrence since putting it down to chance seems quite lame. How do you reconcile it, or do you, like me, just shrug the shoulders?

Dear UOG,

Optimism and idealism as dark thoughts? That is in itself very dark.

Dear Squeers,

I will not condemn your dissatisfaction because it is exactly that emotion driving the changes we see in the world today, most pointedly within Arab dictatorships. However I will try and explain the sense of wonder I get about the times we are living in. The fully fledged democracies that include women we are enjoying are only around 100 years old, the scourge of slavery has been routed, the reach of the internet and social media is breaking down walls everywhere, the welfare state, universal health cover, the UN, the eight hour day, the forty hour week, unions, universal education, women's rights and equal pay, flights to the moon, dramatic advances in medicine, and on and on. We are alive with change. It is beating at or doors and rattling our windows like no other time in history. Conservative reactions might betray a fear of the pace, but they have as much chance of holding the tide back as the good King Midas.

I mean WOW!

I can understand those who may want to hop off but I'm in for the ride. As for 'agility' I will defend the human race here by saying I see extraordinary willingness and capacity to embrace change throughout much of the world.

You may want to sniff the winds of change Father Sancho, so do I, but perhaps we should also be prepared to occasionally take a bow and smell the roses at our feet.