Alright everyone, you can stop now. You've all had your chance to run around waving your arms in the air, screaming that the Sky is Falling, and that it's the End Of The World, and We're All Doomed.
Time to stop being hysterical and start acting like grown-ups.
I've been waiting for people to settle down for a while now, waiting for them to stop screaming about the Boogie-Man and start noticing that we haven't all been raped and killed in the aftermath of some Nuclear Apocalypse brought on by a demented Red-Headed Despot Hell-Bent on the Destruction Of Us All... Nope, we're all still here.... But people haven't stopped to notice.
Subsequently, I feel it is my duty as one of the few that has earned his "How to Behave in a Crisis" Badge, to remind everyone of some things that have happened recently. I will start with the things you DID see, followed by the things you THINK you saw, and finally, giving you a glimpse of what you SHOULD have seen, but you were all too busy being emotional and manipulated by people who will be making a buck out of your support down the track.
I will not be getting too deep into each topic, or we will be here until Judgement Day, but I will give you the "Headlines" if you like. Any lack of particulars can be researched by you. I expect my readers to be at least semi-literate, or else I'm wasting my time even more than I thought.
Okay, you all Saw Donald Trump inaugurated as President of the United States of America. The guy who said he would expel the illegal immigrants, build a wall, make America great again, etc. You also saw that he had promised Draconian measures against abortion, climate change, various research areas, and Terrorism. You saw him sign the Decree banning U.S. NGO's (Non-Government Organisations) from providing abortion advice to overseas populations. You have also seen Trump ask the Military for options on ways to increase the effectiveness of the Military's fight against Terrorism.You also saw Congress asked to consider a tax on all goods imported from Mexico, to help pay for the "Wall".
As of my writing this, that is about all you have actually seen President Trump do... except move house and offend people because he doesn't let his wife go first... (I have no explanation for this, maybe he was badly brought up...)
So now, let me tell you what THINK you saw in response to the things you SAW;
You think you saw The Netherlands and some other nations (this is just the Headlines, remember?), set up a fund to counter the funding and information shortfall created by the withdrawal of U.S. services in abortion education in Third-World Countries.
You think you saw climate-change institutions and research facilities scramble to back-up, safe-guard or make open to the public, all data on their files so it could not be erased, corrupted, or twisted to serve some Anti-Climate-Change Agenda.
You think you saw NASA open its' years of research to the public domain for the same reason.
You also think you saw the Military let off the leash so they can plan indiscriminate war against nations and groups it deems are hostile.
You think you saw Congress asked to consider a tax which would hurt Mexico's Economy and make it more expensive to buy goods made there.
Of course you think that...that's what you were told you should think.
I do not hold a degree, I am not a professional in this field. I am just a Layman observer who tries not to become too involved in the emotional story. I try and stand back and see the other factors surrounding the situation. What I am about to say is MY OPINION ONLY. I don't get paid to write, in fact I sacrifice a lot of sleep in order to write. I do not subscribe to any political camp, and I do all my own thinking. In saying that, please be aware that I have not fabricated or twisted any of the facts. I have simply looked at them from a different angle.
This is what the protesting, terrified public, (some of whom I know personally, and whom I like a lot), SHOULD have seen over the last few days;
Trump signs the Anti-Abortion Decree, and suddenly a whole bunch of nations who refused to contribute any more than they already were, suddenly found the cash to fill the hole left by the U.S.A.. So rather than reducing the information available to Third-World countries, there is now just as much information available, and most of it from nations that are more Pro birth-control than the U.S.. Hopefully, down the road, when the U.S. comes back to the fold, this will result in an INCREASE in services in this area. Funny how nations can find the bucks when they need to.
The Climate-Change Institutions and NASA suddenly say it's alright for everyone to have access to their information... for free!! Hang on...why now? Is the threat of losing or having facts perverted the only way we were going to get our hands on all of the data without paying for it? So if Trump had not been the Scary Guy, and had not been elected President, would we, the public, paid for or been drip-fed information about our planet as it suited these Institutions? Those that read my blog may recall that when Elon Musk released all of Tesla's patents to the public domain, I said that it was a smart move, and that the new Tesla would be a remarkable car. I was right. Imagine what can be done with this.
You should have seen that the Military, in considering its' options for the escalation of pressure on Terrorism, will be first considering a number of measures put in place under the Obama Administration, but not acted upon "at this time". Chances are, much of what you see the U.S. Military carry out in the near to medium-term future, will be Obama Presidency Plans carried out by Donald Trump. This includes an increase in troop numbers on foreign soil. Trump may have his face on the flag, but Obama signed the blue-prints.
Finally, you should have seen that a tax on goods made in Mexico does several things...it imposes a tariff, which automatically makes the same goods produced in the U.S.A. much more attractive price-wise, and it encourages U.S. corporations who manufacture in Mexico to pull manufacturing back to the United States in order to be competitive. Finally, it sets a precedent; if a tax can be put on Mexican produced goods, then why not others, so that industry can return to the U.S. and boost employment and the Economy? This effect would not be immediate, but could eventually benefit the U.S. as a whole. Don't forget, an increase in skilled labour demand in the United States always generates a market for unskilled labour to fill the gap...a long-term benefit for Mexico.
Does this make Trump a good guy? Not necessarily, but it does tell us one thing that everyone overlooked. The election of someone that acts against that which you know is right, is not a cause for protest. It is a cause for action, to make sure that the causes closest to your heart are defended and made stronger, in spite of the actions of others.
Whether deliberate or inadvertent, I don't know, but President Trump has instigated greater material action for the benefit of all nations in the last week, than Obama did in the first month of his Presidency. Obama generated congratulatory celebration, Trump has galvanised change.
So don't despair...look again...this is an opportunity to not only make America Great again, but to also make the Great Things in America even Greater.... and maybe, if we play it right, the whole world can benefit...
Friday, 27 January 2017
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Australia Day....Are We Being Adults About This?
This Blog may lack some relevance to readers who don't live in Australia... but then again, it may strike a chord...
As Australians, we have taken particular pride in celebrating our National Day in a uniquely Australian way. We love Barbecues, Cricket, the beach, the bush, the beer, and an incredibly informal celebration of our lifestyle.
That is all changing. No longer do we celebrate until it gets out of hand... the Cronulla riots put an end to that. The Barbecue is now tamed, with warnings about setting examples for our children, and eating food that is cooked all the way through... honestly...there have been advertisements on radio and television! The beach is now a dangerous place, with shark and jellyfish warnings, and sun cancer threats limiting our time in the sun. Beer is now a mid-strength, generic brew that promotes a healthy lifestyle... and the bush? Well the bush is now a romantic place where well equipped four wheel-drives can access mountain tops and remote vistas for a camping break, and still get you home in time to get the kids to school tomorrow. No more remote, hard-life bush with primitive tents and flies and mosquitoes.... unless you happen to live in the real bush...
Australia Day is still a celebration of our Nations' Founding, but it is a sanitized, politically correct celebration, one that shows us what we have been told we should be, not what we really are.
Australia Day is also under pressure from a movement that wants to change the day from a celebration of the landing of the First Fleet at Botany Bay on 26th January 1788, to a day of mourning for the Indigenous Peoples of Australia.
This movement is gaining strength, and the message being pushed is that we should change the date of Australia Day to one that is less distressing for the Aboriginal People who began to be dispossessed of their land from the moment permanent occupation by Europeans began.
I can understand the feeling that Aboriginal people throughout this continent must have toward Australia Day. It must be a reminder of the beginning of mistreatment, exploitation, war, murder, dismissal, denial of Rights, and finally, an attempt to remove their Race from the genetic pool of planet Earth. I acknowledge all those things, and, despite my initial misgivings, I support the Apology offered by Kevin Rudd.
Australia has come a long way in a short time. The Aboriginal flag,often compared to the Southern Cross of the Eureka Flag as a symbol of rebellion, has now become an accepted part of our celebrations in both the sporting and cultural arenas. Cathy Freemans' triumphant victory lap at the 2000 Olympics, with the flag draped across her shoulders in company with the Australian flag, ensured that acceptance of her peoples' symbol would be universal, and so it has become.
The "Welcome to Country" that occurs at every major, (and most minor) sporting and cultural events, is now so accepted that it raises no comment, criticism or protest from any audience or commentator. A mere decade and a half ago it was seen as a novelty at best, and a protest at worst.
The questions on every Government form, asking whether you are of Aboriginal, Torres Strait,or Islander Heritage, are now not even given a second thought. They are a part of life.
And yet... And yet...
The problem of Australia Day remains.
As a second generation Australian, (and my wife is a first generation Australian), I have a problem with the idea of moving Australia Day. Not because I am bigoted and uncaring, not because I am racist and hateful, but because I love this country. My forebears arrived here in the late 1800's, leaving a home that offered them less opportunity than one on the far side of the world, after a dangerous sea voyage. They sacrificed much, and in return, gave everything they could to make themselves, and, by extension this country,succeed.My wife's parents left a war-ravaged Europe, abandoning family, memories, history, and the chance to rebuild, and chose to start again in a land of hope. To them, Australia was every bit as precious and beautiful as it was to those who had been here for lifetimes, because Australia was Safe, Beautiful, and a place without Judgement. Australia was Hope.
My Great-Grandparents, and my wife's parents took no part in the mistreatment of Aboriginal people. They did not regard them as being different to the Americans, Chinese, Islanders or other "Wogs" that had arrived at the same time as them. In fact, they were often treated as badly. They were all discriminated against as "New Chums" or "Reffos", "Chinks" or "Abos". It didn't matter, you were not quite "there" until at least a generation down the track.
As an Australian, I am sorry that incredible cruelties were inflicted on the ancestors of our modern Native People, but it was not my family that inflicted those cruelties. My wife has no relatives on her Father's side because a genocide destroyed her father's family. Should she never allow the German people to move on from that? Her Father married a German girl after the war...in Australia...they made it their home.
Should they also never be forgiven for what was done to the Aboriginal people?
I suppose my biggest question in all of this is "What is it that the Aboriginal People Want, in the End?"
Modern Australians have apologised, we have granted Land Rights, we have recognised Citizenship, we are working on correcting Educational and Health discrepancies in our Society( a long process, I know, but we have acknowledged it and are working...), Sporting and Academic recognition is now common-place, and often separated to give Indigenous recipients greater recognition.
And now you want to move Australia Day.
Please understand, I am not attacking Indigenous Australia. I realise the pain is deep and the desire for recompense is strong, but I do not know at which point my Indigenous friends (and I mean that literally), will say "That's it!! we have what we were looking for. You can stop now,,"
After all, I can't leave this country and "go home'. This is my home. I have no other.
By the same token, many White Australians resist change for the mere sake of resistance, and a fear of what is new, but that attitude is easily overcome, and should not be held up as an example of "How things should be"
I have heard many Aboriginal people say that they have a connection to Land. They know when they are "Home", and it means so much to them. That connection is born of thousands of years of living in a particular space. I can understand that.
Do you know why? Because I feel it too. Perhaps not as strongly, perhaps not as spiritually, but I feel it. Until the day I die, I will know that my home is in the Brigalow, and as much as I love where I live, I know that the country I was raised in, where my family lived, will always be home. My Sister, who lives on the other side of the world, will, when reading this, feel the same longing for the Brigalow trees and Melon-holes of home as I do right now.
So. My query is this; Do we continue to find new things to argue about, to grant, or take, to enforce or refuse, or do we sit down and start to talk?
A serious discussion must occur between our First Inhabitants, who must stop appointing Leaders and then call them "turn-coats" if they appear to get along with Government, or appointing Leaders and calling them "too difficult" when they take a hard line with policy issues, and the White People of Australia, who must take a vital and informed interest in our First People, and who must hold our politicians accountable, and ensure that justice and fairness is applied to everyone that lives in this wonderful land, and that no-one misses out.
My answer to my own question is this; Let's talk,,, you and me..and let's talk about it all. Let's be honest, and let's give each other the chance to work together to get it right. Maybe we will move Australia Day. Maybe we won't, but we will never know what the right decision is until we start a conversation, not just have demands.
Until then; Happy Australia Day, one and all. May the spirit of Mateship and good-times infect you all....
As Australians, we have taken particular pride in celebrating our National Day in a uniquely Australian way. We love Barbecues, Cricket, the beach, the bush, the beer, and an incredibly informal celebration of our lifestyle.
That is all changing. No longer do we celebrate until it gets out of hand... the Cronulla riots put an end to that. The Barbecue is now tamed, with warnings about setting examples for our children, and eating food that is cooked all the way through... honestly...there have been advertisements on radio and television! The beach is now a dangerous place, with shark and jellyfish warnings, and sun cancer threats limiting our time in the sun. Beer is now a mid-strength, generic brew that promotes a healthy lifestyle... and the bush? Well the bush is now a romantic place where well equipped four wheel-drives can access mountain tops and remote vistas for a camping break, and still get you home in time to get the kids to school tomorrow. No more remote, hard-life bush with primitive tents and flies and mosquitoes.... unless you happen to live in the real bush...
Australia Day is still a celebration of our Nations' Founding, but it is a sanitized, politically correct celebration, one that shows us what we have been told we should be, not what we really are.
Australia Day is also under pressure from a movement that wants to change the day from a celebration of the landing of the First Fleet at Botany Bay on 26th January 1788, to a day of mourning for the Indigenous Peoples of Australia.
This movement is gaining strength, and the message being pushed is that we should change the date of Australia Day to one that is less distressing for the Aboriginal People who began to be dispossessed of their land from the moment permanent occupation by Europeans began.
I can understand the feeling that Aboriginal people throughout this continent must have toward Australia Day. It must be a reminder of the beginning of mistreatment, exploitation, war, murder, dismissal, denial of Rights, and finally, an attempt to remove their Race from the genetic pool of planet Earth. I acknowledge all those things, and, despite my initial misgivings, I support the Apology offered by Kevin Rudd.
Australia has come a long way in a short time. The Aboriginal flag,often compared to the Southern Cross of the Eureka Flag as a symbol of rebellion, has now become an accepted part of our celebrations in both the sporting and cultural arenas. Cathy Freemans' triumphant victory lap at the 2000 Olympics, with the flag draped across her shoulders in company with the Australian flag, ensured that acceptance of her peoples' symbol would be universal, and so it has become.
The "Welcome to Country" that occurs at every major, (and most minor) sporting and cultural events, is now so accepted that it raises no comment, criticism or protest from any audience or commentator. A mere decade and a half ago it was seen as a novelty at best, and a protest at worst.
The questions on every Government form, asking whether you are of Aboriginal, Torres Strait,or Islander Heritage, are now not even given a second thought. They are a part of life.
And yet... And yet...
The problem of Australia Day remains.
As a second generation Australian, (and my wife is a first generation Australian), I have a problem with the idea of moving Australia Day. Not because I am bigoted and uncaring, not because I am racist and hateful, but because I love this country. My forebears arrived here in the late 1800's, leaving a home that offered them less opportunity than one on the far side of the world, after a dangerous sea voyage. They sacrificed much, and in return, gave everything they could to make themselves, and, by extension this country,succeed.My wife's parents left a war-ravaged Europe, abandoning family, memories, history, and the chance to rebuild, and chose to start again in a land of hope. To them, Australia was every bit as precious and beautiful as it was to those who had been here for lifetimes, because Australia was Safe, Beautiful, and a place without Judgement. Australia was Hope.
My Great-Grandparents, and my wife's parents took no part in the mistreatment of Aboriginal people. They did not regard them as being different to the Americans, Chinese, Islanders or other "Wogs" that had arrived at the same time as them. In fact, they were often treated as badly. They were all discriminated against as "New Chums" or "Reffos", "Chinks" or "Abos". It didn't matter, you were not quite "there" until at least a generation down the track.
As an Australian, I am sorry that incredible cruelties were inflicted on the ancestors of our modern Native People, but it was not my family that inflicted those cruelties. My wife has no relatives on her Father's side because a genocide destroyed her father's family. Should she never allow the German people to move on from that? Her Father married a German girl after the war...in Australia...they made it their home.
Should they also never be forgiven for what was done to the Aboriginal people?
I suppose my biggest question in all of this is "What is it that the Aboriginal People Want, in the End?"
Modern Australians have apologised, we have granted Land Rights, we have recognised Citizenship, we are working on correcting Educational and Health discrepancies in our Society( a long process, I know, but we have acknowledged it and are working...), Sporting and Academic recognition is now common-place, and often separated to give Indigenous recipients greater recognition.
And now you want to move Australia Day.
Please understand, I am not attacking Indigenous Australia. I realise the pain is deep and the desire for recompense is strong, but I do not know at which point my Indigenous friends (and I mean that literally), will say "That's it!! we have what we were looking for. You can stop now,,"
After all, I can't leave this country and "go home'. This is my home. I have no other.
By the same token, many White Australians resist change for the mere sake of resistance, and a fear of what is new, but that attitude is easily overcome, and should not be held up as an example of "How things should be"
I have heard many Aboriginal people say that they have a connection to Land. They know when they are "Home", and it means so much to them. That connection is born of thousands of years of living in a particular space. I can understand that.
Do you know why? Because I feel it too. Perhaps not as strongly, perhaps not as spiritually, but I feel it. Until the day I die, I will know that my home is in the Brigalow, and as much as I love where I live, I know that the country I was raised in, where my family lived, will always be home. My Sister, who lives on the other side of the world, will, when reading this, feel the same longing for the Brigalow trees and Melon-holes of home as I do right now.
So. My query is this; Do we continue to find new things to argue about, to grant, or take, to enforce or refuse, or do we sit down and start to talk?
A serious discussion must occur between our First Inhabitants, who must stop appointing Leaders and then call them "turn-coats" if they appear to get along with Government, or appointing Leaders and calling them "too difficult" when they take a hard line with policy issues, and the White People of Australia, who must take a vital and informed interest in our First People, and who must hold our politicians accountable, and ensure that justice and fairness is applied to everyone that lives in this wonderful land, and that no-one misses out.
My answer to my own question is this; Let's talk,,, you and me..and let's talk about it all. Let's be honest, and let's give each other the chance to work together to get it right. Maybe we will move Australia Day. Maybe we won't, but we will never know what the right decision is until we start a conversation, not just have demands.
Until then; Happy Australia Day, one and all. May the spirit of Mateship and good-times infect you all....
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