pseudo terrorism threat
I am surprised and rather disgusted by the lack of courage shown by my fellow Australians.
As a young man in Europe in the 2nd world war I saw places like London, Coventry, Berlin, Dresden, Starlingrad, etc bombed for nights, even months on end and the populations of these places not only didn’t surrender under this duress but actually developed a stubborn defiance towards their aggressors, they certainly didn’t feel continuous fear for their lives although they were aware that they could be killed any day or night.
Now, here I observe that the Howard government has managed to instill a fear of a terrorist threat such that they have been able to confiscate a great number of rights, freedoms and dignities from us on the pretext that they will provide us with greater protection from this terrible terrorist threat. What a load of bollocks. There is a far greater threat to our lives from road rage, home invasion, accidents in the home,etc, in fact, death from a terrorist act is so remote as to be of little consequence.
I am not saying that the possibility of a terrorist attack doesn’t exist, but I’m sure that blundering around raiding homes in the middle of the night and arresting all and sundry will in no way improve my safety.
I would feel safer if the government were to encourage the population to be vigilant and be aware that these terrorist organisations exist and are a danger to our way of life. During the war years it wasn’t necessary to give up our freedoms, however, people were encouraged to report any activities or strangers in the area which they noticed. The police would then discreetly investigate these reports and take appropriate action. I’m not sure, but I never noticed the police jumping in and frightening off any suspect or otherwise intimidating the innocent. However, I do know that they apprehended a number of bailed out enemy pilots and the like as a result of these observations by the public.
Unfortunately, the fear campaign has now been adopted by the State Labor governments and even more of our liberties are being eroded. The problem with all this generation of fear to take away our liberty is that it will become a part of the law of the land and we will have to have a revolution to get even some of our rights back.
I wish that my fellow Australians would start to realize that to give up their freedom and rights is to surrender, these are the very things that make our country worth fighting for and to give them up is to submit to terrorism be it home grown or foreign in origin. What matters what or who runs this country if we have no rights and freedoms, we are then of no real importance, just fodder for working or fighting.
August 8th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Some thoughts:
A) The government will always be in a bind. If there is a terrorist attack then the population will say “why didn’t you protect us?”. So from the governments perspective they’re covering their own arse by taking as much power as they can. But I agree with you, our civil liberties are being erroded in the name of something that hasn’t come to bear despite several threats.
B) Whilst I don’t like the government having all the power, the “good citizen notifying the law” line of reasoning reminds me of things I’ve heard about Nazi Germany and Socialist East Germany.
In your infinite wisdom, do you think the ebb and flow of liberties is a trend that has repeated itself over the ages? That is, liberties are eroded until revolution, they are all restored and then slowly eroded again?
August 8th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Right On, Great Grandfather!
The “War on Terror” is almost exclusively a tactic used by those in power to keep the public in a state of continual uncertainty, and to thus retain power because voters tend to avoid change in times of crisis. “Better the devil you know…” etc.
As you say, the probability of a terrorist attack is not zero, but the effects of the “threat” have been out of all proportion to what has actually occurred. If Sydney was like Baghdad, with bombs and gunfire night and day I’d think differently, but that’s not the case. As far as I’m aware, the list of terrorist attacks on Australian soil since 11-Sep is completely empty, and it seems pretty likely to remain that way.
Meanwhile, the laws aimed at “protecting” us become more and more draconian.
I think Howard will lose the next election, but I really doubt that things will be different under Rudd. The Labor crew, like the Libs, are just interested in the accumulation of power, influence and money.
It’s a pretty sorry state all around. But at least we’re not in Baghdad.
August 17th, 2007 at 4:07 am
In reply to your question re the cyclic nature of liberty and loss thereof, I am of the opinion that people that get into a position of power do not like to be challenged, this applies to all positions of power be they in politics, religion, or simply at work.
Since most people in power are there by good fortune, luck or ruthlessness, they realize that they do not really have any claim on their position by right. This being the case, they secure their position by placing restrictions on the people that they deal with.
In the middle ages the people in power enforced their power by brute force and it took ages for ordinary folk to obtain any sort of dignity.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, force wasn’t so acceptable, mainly because people at the top needed skilled employees so had to bring in some kind of regulation. The regulations were severe and didn’t give a great deal of security or dignity to the employees.
Towards the end of the 20th century, the employees organized themselves and put pressure on the top to obtain better conditions, rights and liberties. However, the power brokers never liked the new arrangement and worked to minimise the power of the people. And they still operate in this fashion.
Accordingly, there is a cyclic movement of liberties and rights and the period of the cycle depends upon the smartness of the two opposing poles, i.e. the power force is always pushing to increase its hold on power and if the other side lets down its guard, then its hard earned rights and liberties will be eroded away
Unfortunately, if either one side gets too powerful, then the correction is likely to catastrophic and bloody. Since I’m a pacifist by heart, I’d prefer that these opposing power plays stay in equilibrium and swing about the mean.
If only we could all realize that we are where we are as much by luck and good fortune as a result of our own effort. We should invite criticism and treat others with respect and dignity. This way we would get the advantage of the experience and knowledge of others without being under any real threat.
Trouble is that this ideal requires both parties to be of the same mind set. Often, too many people are only too willing to bite the hand held out to help them.
People are so complicated aren’t they. It’s what makes life worth living.
All this is being compilied off the top of my head so don’t take it as gospel!
From this you should realize that I am aware that if Rudd gets into power, we then have to try to get him to give up some of the power that the Howard government has obtained for him. That will not be easy I’m sure.
This was the trouble with the trade unions, they started out doing what they should do, i.e. improve the conditions for their members; however, when the union leaders found that they had power, they behaved exactly as the bosses and didn’t appreciate being challenged and so they became unpopular with the people that they were supposed to represent.
The problem was once again that the union members were too complacent and didn’t make sure that they kept control of the leadership.
Grandma is keen on league football so I have to rave on about something and hope that some one hears! I can’t stand the football under any circumstances
March 31st, 2008 at 2:46 am
Do you fairly think this is news? I like and read your blog to get necessary information, but sometimes melancholy kills me
April 1st, 2008 at 2:25 am
Robert,
The answer to your question is no.
I didn’t intend to be melancholic, it’s just that it is a subject that I thought to be interesting and to which I couldn’t see a ready acceptable solution.
It was indeed pleasing to hear that someone other than myself and my grandson read my blog. I don’t think that you will get too much ” necessary ” information though!