I have just read an article on the Sydney Morning Herald on Paul Keating's comments of the current Australian society. It is not a long article but has raised my interest in finding out what values in our society we should be preserving, and what we need to disregard. I think it has particular relevance in what matters in a multi-faceted society, and how we should understand that ultimately we are all the same. I think our politicians should not be short-sighted and create an inciteful and political environment which interferes with our normal good human nature.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/pm-taps-into-black-thread-keating/2007/09/05/1188783274438.html

Regards

Dear Goku

the problem of diversity in society and the noble goal of 'what should we preserve' in terms of commonality, is a bit of a dream.

If you doubt me, goto a large public car park and see the behavior of people :) everyone views the world in terms of 'their' world/personal view. I come across people driving the wrong way up one way parking lanes..

Culturally, people are the same. There are 'good/generous/kind' people in every group, but 'by and large' people perceive the world and its inhabitants in terms of their own..... and act accordingly.

Does it surprise you that most of the 10 commandments are DON'T this or that.
In fact there are only 2 positive commands.
-"Keep the Sabbath"
-"Honor your parents"

Every other is a "don't"

The natural human inclination, believe it or not, is to go against what we know is right for all, and DO what is best for US.

Jesus was quite accurate when he said "He who would be first among you must become servant of all"... it goes against the grain, yet is the only true solution and 'gold thread' we should value.

Just imagine if instead of our youth media shouting out "Me me..and more meeeee" it communicated "for them... for him...for her... I will so my best to lift them up"

So, dare I say, the most precious fine gold 'value' we should be promoting is a Christian one.. "first shall be last, last shall be first"

Jesus told a beautiful parable about a banquet, when he noticed how people chose their seats.

"When you go to a banquet, don't choose the seat of greatest honour, but take the lowest place. Then, the host can come and say "Come friend, go up higher". Otherwise, the host may come and instruct you to take a lower place, and with shame and humiliation you leave the honoured seat"

Oh that our politicians took this view also. Let the people say "Yes.. you have done well.. you have served greatly, go up higher and lead us"

Ouch, I partially agree with BD. But only partially. Yes, humans tend to look after their own needs first, but its something that it built into us thanks to evolution, rather than an inherent evil. Large communities (cities) also tend to have the impact of turning us inwards, as those that surround us are strangers. Its much harder to be self-centred in a small town (particularly if you value your reputation). There are actually a number of management/self improvement books out there now that advocate "giving to the universe", a karma-type philosophy. What you give out you will get back tenfold.And that's pretty true. I mean, if you are known to be a good and generous person you can still have a hard life, but people will be lining up at your door to help you out. Kindness begets kindness, so if you want to change the world into a better place, simply start with whats around you.

Likewise revenge begets revenge. Got to give the bible a tick on this one. Turn the other cheek is a good philosophy for the world. If you take revenge for an act against you or yours, you will only inspire a greater attack on yourself. All the fundi Christians that want Bin Laden's head for the WTC disaster would do well to go back and re-read their texts, and think about WHY that's a good philosophy to live by. Doesnt mean that you shouldnt take steps to protect yourself, but that implies defence, not attack.

Keating was absolutely correct, of course. The Howard government has cynically moved to win back that ignorant and hateful sector of the electorate that they lost to Hansonism in the 1990s.

I regard the 'gold threads' in Australian society as comprising such aspects as the notion of a 'fair go', tolerance, secularism, egalitarianism, a healthy disrespect for hypocrisy and wowserism, our 'larrikin' ethos, and so on.

Of course there are 'black threads' like the latent xenophobia, , misogyny, racism and homophobia that are apparent in that minority of the population whom Howard needs to appeal to in order to retain power, but fortunately those who subscribe to these negative ideologies are relatively few in number.

Boazy: "I come across people driving the wrong way up one way parking lanes.."

It must be the MUSLIMS AND ASIANS! Aussies would never do that.

I'm in big trouble now .

Boazy has spotted me in the car park !

How often do we do things and only realise later we've been selfish? Often I think.

How often do we get halfway through something (like driving the wrong way in a one-way lane) and realise too late that we've made a mistake? Even worse, a mistake we can't correct because it's too late?

That's why we have convenient words like "regret" in our vocabulary.

It's as easy to assume somebody is being deliberately selfish as it is to make any other mistake. If you see someone driving in the wrong direction, why assume they've done it on purpose?

Our tendency to suspect the worst in everyone but ourselves is not a nice thing. Perhaps it's this tendency, and not actual selfishness, that has risen in the past decade.