Australian Politics Oct 2012

The greatest danger of recognizing totalitarianism as the curse of the century would be an obsession with it to the extent of becoming blind to the numerous small and not so small evils with which the road to hell is paved." - Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, 1963

 The nature of the Australian state is a myopic one. In the West we have been inculcating ourselves to believe in our triumphs against the evils of totalitarianism: fascist and communist. Australian ought to reflect on what it was against and upheld. However, Australia participated in a war not to bring evil to the world but to eradicate evil. But Carl Schmitt noted that:
“For those in whom the will to abolish war is strongest their war is considered to constitute the last war of humanity. Such a war is necessarily unusually intense and inhumane because by transferring the limits of our political framework it degrades the enemy into moral and other categories and is forced to make of monster out of him, not only to be defeated but destroyed.”

 

Being a 'socialist' myself I have slowly become aware of some things the ALP are doing to move me away from them and back to my more secure socialist self.
Some examples;
removal of an elected PM: non support of ETS and watering down of carbon pricing; watering down of original mining tax; allowing USA troops in northern Australia; dismantling of the chronic disease dental support system; the continued propping up of the wealthy private schools; the continued proping up of the wealthy self funded retirees ( ie giving them the 'rights' of the poor basic pensioner); the vilification of those on Newstart ( including the forced 'volunteerism' of wives of aged care recipients): the underfunding of our PUBLIC hospitals; the dismantling of our TAFE's funding; the idea of a free education from infants through university GONE; support for the arts ( independent theatres, visual arts, music) non existent; the processing of asylum seekers who arrive only by boat in offshore concentration camps; Lack of support for Marriage Equality by a PM who is an atheist AND in a defacto relationship; Lack of leadership on all things that are hard, but fair and right!
Despite all this the idea of Abbott being PM is repulsive and the idea of another 11 years of conservative rule is too horrible to contemplate.
I search desparately for leadership, for moral 'high' ground, for ethical direction of our parliamentarians, and for those who will stand fast even though all those around them are vilifiying them and frightened for their own 'careers'. There may be but a handful.
 Very important to keep questioning everyone and every policy.