Fear and panic aren’t just bad in themselves; they often lead to stasis.
And that’s bad for more than the obvious set of reasons.
Demagogues and dictators rely on conformity of thought, and on wearing their opposition down, to get the upper hand.
As we all mourn the terrible violence against immigrants in Belfast, and the continuing murder of innocents in so many places – including Lebanon and Palestine – we mustn’t fall prey to inaction. If we do, we let the bastards win.
In this very vein, this week, Kos Samaras supplies us with a handy ‘how-to’ guide to defeating Pauline Hanson. Just what the doctor ordered.
He offers a way of understanding the woman attracting so much attention, and reminds us that her support base is not all baked in. Many Johnny-come-latelys have been lured by the “she’s not a politician, she’s one of us” fiction. As she slips more frequently into Gina Rinehart’s private jet, this façade is becoming increasingly difficult for a 25-year plus politician to maintain. And as more millions pour into her election war chest from the power-hungry privileged, that cover may start to crack. A few well-aimed taps on the façade could be just the ticket.
The debate swirling around energy and AUKUS continues in the lead-up to the late-July ALP National Conference. While many parts of the debate are predetermined, there is still robust discussion expected on the floor of conference; with ministers and caucus challenged by party members.
Last week, I wrote about AUKUS and the re-emergence of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, back to tout his “forever” deal.
I was struggling to work out quite why this upset me so much. After a little reflection, it has come clear. Hearing Morrison talk, on and on, was a nasty lurch back to altered times: when we were expected to believe in an alternative reality, conjured by an ad man who obliterated reason every time he opened his mouth. It was suffocating. So many words; so little meaning. The aim, for a man like our former PM was, and is, to have audiences lean into the fetid flow, or withdraw, exhausted.
I can only imagine what it must be like to keep spirits up in the United States – where this kind of dishonesty and corruption in public life tries daily to crush Americans.
One man who refuses even to be slowed, is the unstoppable former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich. His snappy words this week are my best bit. In the daily broadcast that has become a lifeline for so many, he says:
“Either he [President Trump] knows he’s lying – in order to further undermine confidence in our elections and as a prelude to attacking the outcome of the mid-terms – in which case he needs to be impeached and convicted.
“Or he doesn’t know he’s lying – he really believes that our election system is ‘crooked’ and that the major media are ‘crooked’ – in which case he’s seriously and dangerously mentally ill, and the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked to get him out of office.
“Take your pick. Either way, he has to be removed from office. And soon.”
Hear, hear.
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Catriona Jackson is the Chief Executive and Editor of Pearls and Irritations.