Stirring the Pot.

So, as of late 2015, processed meat, beef, lamb, and pork are the new things to fear.
I'm not surprised, to be honest. We have known for ages that processed meat is not good for us, and we have also been told that too much red meat is bad for us.... but Cancer???

The World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) is a very respectable institution. These are the people that oversaw and monitored the eradication of Smallpox, and they have been warning of the resurgence of Polio and Tuberculosis, so they are working for the good of Mankind, but I wonder if they are becoming a part of the problem. Which problem? The problem that is infecting Western civilization; the problem of Attitude towards Life.

We, in the First World, have a very unique approach to Life. We regard long life as a great reward and almost a Right, these days. We are living longer than at any other time in history, and we are doing it in better health, too. We live our working lives planning for a retirement in which we can (hopefully) enjoy unlimited leisure time, with a pleasant outlook for many years to come. Living to age 85 these days is not uncommon, and if you are fortunate enough to retire at 65, then almost 30% of your life-span is theoretically yours to enjoy as you wish.

Unfortunately, this scenario is not universal in our elderly. Many older people are in nursing facilities, with failing health, little opportunity to get around, and with few visitors. Instead of living long, happy lives, they are just living long.

We have another problem which seems unrelated to the elderly, but it is even more devastating. The suicide rate among the young people of the First World nations is growing alarmingly. More people under the age of 25 are committing suicide than at any time in recorded history. Why? We have a good society, with reasonably fair laws, education and opportunity is provided to the vast majority, and our medical research is keeping us safer from diseases than ever before. What then, is driving a sense of hopelessness among our Youth?

Putting these two problems into the pot, adding the latest W.H.O. findings, and giving it a good stir, has made me wonder about something.What if we, as a society, are looking at Life the wrong way, and what if it doesn't really matter that things are Bad For Us?

There are many people who do not eat red, or processed meat, or any meat at all, in some cases, and they have a range of reasons for not doing so. I think that is great, if it works for them. Health reasons are as good as any reason to not eat animal protein, if that suits you. The evidence shows that these people are more likely to live healthier trouble free lives for a few years longer than the omnivores among us. Good for them. Of all the other reasons not to eat meat, I don't understand a few of them, but that's just my opinion, and if they are happy, then also; Good for them.

What I have a problem with is the "blanket" attitude toward red and processed meat. Has it been proven that processed meat can cause cancer? Yes. Is it as bad as tobacco, or radiation exposure? The answer is no. Can red meat cause cancer? Yes. Is it as bad as processed meat? No. If processed meat is as bad as the media reports, then Colo-rectal cancer would be the leading cancer among Italians, Greeks, Germans, and most Slavic people. It's not.

The knee-jerk reaction from the general media, and certain interest groups fails to take these subtle inferences into consideration when they report this story, and I think this harms society in the long run. If people are continually told that a long life is better, when there is nothing to fill that life in the later years, then aren't we doing ourselves a disservice? I have no desire to be trapped in a wheelchair in a home for the frail, simply because a lifetime of manual labour has left me too poor to afford to travel, and too crippled with injury and arthritis to move around as I wish.

The young are being told constantly that their world is being destroyed, polluted and corrupted. they see that every food group can be a detriment to their health if they do not treat it correctly, or if they over-indulge. Sugar is bad, Fat is bad, too much eating is bad, too little is worse. Everything is dangerous, unless it is sterile and completely organic.

Does it have to be this way? Can't we look at things a little differently? Wouldn't it be a more positive approach if we allowed people to have a few bad things without making them pariahs, or at least guilt-ridden? You've made it to 75? Good on you! Eat and drink what you like! You've earned the privilege of letting loose! If you want to continue to live healthily, well that's okay too. You can enjoy life however you choose. Perhaps we can tell the young that Life is Good, rather than Life is Scary. Perhaps they will see the joy in the little evils, rather than the Evil in the little joys.

I have eaten some truly memorable steaks, and my list of favourite meals is red meat heavy. I love Chorizo, Kransky and ham. I would hate to lose my enjoyment (and occasional over-indulgence), of them through a sense of guilt. Don't let Not Dying replace Living.

Time To Start Calling "Bullshit"...

Here is a little interactive task for you. It's not hard, and it's interesting. Inspirational even. Go to you tube and search, "Jeff Daniels, Why America isn't the Greatest Country" Watch it, and then come back to me. The rest of my post won't make sense if you don't do that.

Ok? Great wasn't it? One of the best moments on television that many of us will ever see. It represents all of the things that so many United States citizens ( I find it hard to say Americans, because that includes Canada and the whole of South America, too..) and many of us in the Western World believe. It is all about the things that made the U.S.A. the greatest nation on Earth. The founding Fathers of U.S. Democracy. The U.S. carrying the banner of Freedom for oppressed peoples all over the world. The great free market economics that proved that anyone can be a success.

Jeff Daniels is the actor in this scene, and he is brilliant. He is spontaneous, passionate, emotive and connects with the viewer. I especially love the way he says that the U.S.A. could do it again. They could be that way again, if they want to.

This is the crux of the whole speech. He is saying that The United States could be the great nation it once was. I have watched this clip dozens of times and I always enjoy that moment.

I also believe it's Bullshit.

The United States can never  again become the nation it was, and there is a whole Cuban boatload of reasons why it can't.

One of the big reasons is because the people themselves don't want to. There are many idealistic, committed people in the United states today who want nothing more than to fight for what is right, to free the oppressed, to give to the poor. Many of them put their money where their mouths are, and make great personal sacrifices to do good for others. The problem lies in the fact that all of these people put together would not make a blip on the political radar when compared to those who are happy to pledge money to a cause or sign a petition, as long as it doesn't affect their quality of life, or impinge on their leisure time, and THOSE people are absolutely NOTHING compared to the vast bulk of United States citizens who just Don't Give A Damn.

Let's face it, most United States citizens don't care unless it affects THEM. So talking about history and greatness and glory, are fine. They can accept that critique, and say "yes, we are part of one of the Great Nations of History", and many still carry that myth into today. Asking them to revive that Glory is another problem, and they will never achieve it. Why? Because it's hard.

Returning the United States to the position of Moral World Leader would take hard work and sacrifice. (Whether the U.S.A. ever deserved the title is a moot point, but I digress).
The bottom line is that the U.S.A. doesn't want to do the hard work. They would have to surrender their irresponsible Budgetry policies. They would have to introduce equitable economic practices and distribute wealth more evenly through their society. They would need to stop being so heavy-handed in the Diplomatic arena. They would have to open up their political arena to minor parties and abolish the vote buying system that dominates politics now. They would have to stop selling good ideas to the highest bidder, and start giving them to the population, for free. They would need to reduce their Military spending and give free medical treatment to the people that need it.

If the U.S.A. want to become the nation that the world looks up to, once more, then that is where they need to START. They won't. It's hard. The U.S. doesn't want to do hard any more. They want comfort, and relaxation, and continuation of dominance. If they can't have those things in real life, then they will tell themselves they have them, until someone smacks them in the face with the proof that they don't.

Nice try Mr Daniels, but I'm afraid it won't work. Not at this point in history, anyway.

And why am I, an Australian, writing such scathing things about a country that is not my own? Why do I dare to criticise another country? Well, because Australia prides itself on giving people a fair go. On mateship, sticking up for the under-dog, helping a mate when he's down on his luck, and for fighting on the side that is right.

I'm worried that Jeff Daniels could be talking about Australia, very soon.

Good Morning, Vietnam!! (the battle for values and freedom remains)

There is no doubt that, for a long time, I avoided re-watching "Good Morning, Vietnam!".
As a Robin Williams fan, I waited eagerly for the release of this movie. I was looking forward to seeing a comic genius have a good time with a cultural icon that I not only identified with, but grew up with.
The Vietnam war formed a part of my consciousness, from my earliest memories of seeing the Draft notices appear on the television at night, requesting that those "Whose birthdays fall upon this date... report to your local recruiting office or police station", to the later news bulletins announcing the death of "Corporal so-and-so, of Scrubby Creek, New South Wales...".
All the while the young patriot in me was proud of seeing Australians go to war, while a part of me shrank, and hoped the war would be over before I was called up.

I knew Veteran soldiers from World Wars 1 and 2. They were the older men in our community, and were held in a certain respect. They were the yardsticks by which we measured ourselves in a small country town in Western Queensland.

The Vietnam boys were different. They were my generation, although a little older, and they were friends, and average guys...no mystique surrounded these young men. Until they came home.
It was then the differences showed, and none were ever quite the same. It was a different war, with different rules, and a different outcome. Vietnam was something new.

Yet I didn't see it fully, until I saw "Good Morning, Vietnam!"
Oh, I understood many things, and I valued the ideals that the soldiers lived by, that allowed them to go to war, but I did not realise the trauma involved.

Robin Williams was hilarious in this film. He showed the full array of comic artillery that was in his arsenal. He was funny, outrageous, sarcastic, spontaneous, and irreverent. Each one was to become part of his comic persona that ultimately identified his comic genius. He also showed a much deeper, serious aspect to his character. Walter Cronauer was a real person, a real disc jockey on U.S.Armed Forces Radio, although he was never as outrageous as his film persona. Williams' portrayal takes this character to a different, darker place than Cronauer ever went in real life.

What we see in the film is a clash of cultures. Williams is an American who believes that he is a Good Guy. He is there as part of the effort to save a country. He is a nice, polite, American guy, and he sees no reason why he shouldn't get what he asks for.
What he doesn't see is that he is banging heads with a culture that doesn't see him as a Good Guy, but as just another dominating force. The Vietnamese have their culture, they do not need his presence, and some of them don't even agree with the war his people are waging.

The gradual education of Walter Cronauer and his eventual disillusionment with both his military masters and the people he has misunderstood, is one of the painful yet illuminating lessons of this film. When Robin Williams leaves Vietnam, he is a shattered and educated man. His humor is subdued, his dreams and bravado are gone. He is older.

I first saw this film as soon as it was released. It broke my heart. I went in expecting a good time. I came out shocked and saddened. I didn't expect to be shown such truths. I never watched it again.

 Decades later, I finally had to watch it again, because my wife insisted. I'm glad she did. I saw through fresh eyes the meaning of meeting head-on a culture you not only don't understand, but one you severely under-estimate. A culture that has it's own mores and traditions, and is unused to being trampled by another culture which it does not necessarily regard as being superior. A culture which has radical elements which lie just below the veneer of gentleness and humility.

Australia's conversation with Islamic integration and  immigration is one we have handled badly in recent times. Muslims are here to stay, and we must learn to accommodate the increased numbers of a religion which has been in Australia for two hundred years, in one form or another, while at the same time not allowing our natural acceptance of new ideas bring about the downfall of our society and our values.

Blundering about like a comedian in a war zone will not achieve the result we, as Australians, desire, but neither will being heavy-handed and trying to beat acceptance into our new neighbours. We need to learn to tread the fine line between the two, and perhaps the scene in "Good Morning, Vietnam" which allows Williams' character to be most at ease with the people in Vietnam is the one Australia needs to heed the most.

He takes over an English language class,and instead of teaching them formal language; he teaches them a way they can communicate with each other.

Muslims are not like most Australians, and some are extremely different to Australians.
Yes, they need to change some ideas and attitudes, but so do we. Just like the First Settlers had to.
And the Gold-Rush settlers. And the Economic migrants from Europe in the 1800's. And the Post-war migrants after World War 2, and the Ten Pound Poms in the Sixties.

We are a Nation of Migrants. We have always changed. On both sides of the equation. If we didn't, then the rabid anti-Muslim protestor wouldn't be able to pick up a quick Doner Kebab on the way from his protest rally, and we would never buy any Japanese/Thai-made/Chinese motor cars to drive to work.

We may not be comfortable with this latest wave of immigration, but with some effort we can make it work. Just ask the Vietnamese who flocked to our shores in boats after 1975. They seem to be pretty damned Aussie to me. Effort from BOTH sides....it's all we need to make it a "Wonderful World"

OOOHH, YEAHHH!!

Flames

Sometimes, just sometimes, you get to the point where you want to burn it all down.
The structures you have built in your life, your family, your friends, safeguards you have painstakingly contrived to protect the construct that is the end result of the very best that you can do.... you just want to stand there, like a man with a lit match, in bushfire season, the lunatic with the hand grenade in the doorway of an arsenal, ready and willing to destroy everything you hold dear.
Simply to watch it burn.

When you feel the weight of opinion pressing in from all sides; disapproving, condemning. When the beliefs and foundations that you tried to instill in your children are being eroded before your eyes, and you feel powerless and incompetent; THAT is when you want to fall to your knees and scream "SURRENDER", AND DROP THE MATCH AND LET THE WHOLE THING BURN TO HELL!!

Or do you.....

Ironically, it is the spark  that extinguishes the flame. It is the glimmer of an ember that cools the fire.

When you see hope and joy in a child's eyes, the spark of enlightenment when they learn something new from your experience, or the ember of new knowledge gleaned from your company, and the time they have spent with you, or the respect you give them after they have taught an old dog.... These make it worth not burning it all down.

You may still want to burn it down, at times, but the hope for the future, and the spark of your existence as it burns in their lives, makes blowing out the match worthwhile.