Henrietta Dubb's Diary
Just politics is not just about
politics
When I write a "political" comment in my
diary, I hear myself asking, over and over, "I didn't start this
diary to blow off political steam, did I?" It can be a struggle to
find a positive tone.
Why is our community such an interesting one? Is it
that by living here we have found the time to appreciate the variety of ideas
held by those we meet? Yes, I think so. We also have time to criticise (and
often ditch) our own fancied speculations. Whether we admit it or not Point
Lonsdale for many is a signpost on our personal road to political maturity -
here we learn to swim through the tides of public debate.
We discover that political debate flourishes when
discussion avoids reducing issues to two dogmatic sides: my preferred option
and the view of those who oppose me. We've passed that. We've grown up just a
bit.
Of course we had better take note of the ongoing
differences between light and dark, sweet and bitter, truth and error, wisdom
and foolishness, peace and terror. But who will draw a line and say that
politics requires just two sides? Well, we know very well who says that. This
bi-partisan ideology oils the two major electoral clobbering-machines.
And they also spend heaps of our money telling us in effect that a
multi-party system can't work. Translated into campaign rhetoric that reads:
there is the view of our opponents which is wrong and there is ours, the only
logical one to have. Take your pick!
In this way policies are defined by what is faulty in
the approach of the other guy. This lacks courage; it has lost
perspective, deaf not only to others but also to itself. It avoids debate.
This dominant logic "gilds the lily" of its
own self interest. It knows no self-denial in the interests of the greater
public good. In bolstering this system it stifles the citizenship the
country needs. Voting becomes a legal requirement by which each citizen has to
choose between alternative forms of misrepresentation.
So we
enter the election season (Federal and Borough) inviting the powerful in
politics to consider looking for a new and fresh approach to political
representation. We will keep on talking about politics, since just politics is
not just about politics.
Henrietta Dubb, Christian citizen of the 21st century.
August
2004 © Henrietta Dubb's Diary, is written and
published by Bruce C Wearne, 29 Lawrence Rd., Point Lonsdale Vic 3225
AUSTRALIA, 61-3-5258-3913. Each entry in the diary may be
photocopied or retransmitted in its entirety but shall not otherwise be
reprinted or transmitted without the author's written permission. This is
a project to encourage positive Christian citizenship, the development of
policies and political attitudes that better express our love for God and our
neighbour. Comments are welcome. Email can be sent to bcwearne@ozemail.com.au
Web-site http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bcwearne/hdd.htm