The Election - The Race So far

Oh Cripes, Not Another One!
It's election time in Australia. The gong has been sounded a few weeks ago and I failed to blog it because well, it just wasn't exciting this time through. I used to like these things, but a contest between John Howard and Kevin Rudd is actually like watching a sport between a team of slugs and worms. Or a World Series featuring the Red Sox.

Somebody e-mailed me today and said, "enough with this A-Rod. Write us something with more immediate Australian concerns. And hated your cover of 'Silly Love songs' too"
Crikey.
In other words, face up to a bit of reality that's going around you. All right-y then.

First off, you all know I think John Howard is a Runt-with-a-C.
What you don't know is that I actually think Kevin Rudd wants to be the same kind of Runt; and this gives me no optimism whatsoever. Since the last election the Labor Party has taken a me-too line on things, if not for the difference of talking about the Climate, Education and Health.

The problem there of course is that most hospitals are run by the State Governments and they're all ALP governments at the moment, which goes to show the ALP have no credibility when they talk about Health. Then there's the increasingly lowering educational standards in the State System, and so the ALP has a substantial credibility gap there. So the only thing that you can say with any confidence about a Rudd government is that they would sign The Kyoto Protocol (oi!) and that has got to be something.

Look, I actually voted for Mark Latham last time. I wanted to dislodge The Runt-with-a-C so badly, I voted for a guy who at best represented a generational warrior as well as a class warrior. I'm not ashamed of that - Paul Keating would'a been proud. Except the rest of stupid Australia voted back in the Runt, and now is willing to vote in the guy who is the younger ALP-branded version of the Runt-with-a-C.
I dunno. I'm just not encouraged by any of this.

There's no vision. But then that's not new. Australians hate the arts and sciences; they hate the big picture; they would sooner sell their own children if they could get 0.5% off the interest rate and value their houses more than just about anything. You can't be too surprised that they keep voting for the sorts of bums and conks you wouldn't leave with your mother... And then they turn out to be Bob Collins. Go figure.

Why Are We So Fucked Then?
Money. It's got to be the money. You go to certain parts of the world and it's clear they're not as wealthy as us, but they have proper civic pride. We used to be like that even 7-8 years ago. notions of Social Justice didn't get sneered at as being 'Bolshy' they got institutionalised in things like 'Equal Opportunity'. Now, we've had a decade of a government that has essentially turned us into people who care about the money first.

Think for a moment if you know of a starving artist. (not me!)
Now think of what most of your other friends say about the starving artist being a starving artist. Are any of those remarks that come to mind positive?
Didn't think so.
And the reason is, there's a continuous contempt for people without money in this country. And I can remember when it wasn't like this at all.

So this country has gone from happy-go-lucky to bourgeoisie-snobbery in a mere decade, all on the back of the property bubble and the rush to take out mortgages. Not only did the people of this country sell out their good sense for money, they sold out for nickels and dimes. The problem with saying you get the government you deserve is that very government then defines your subsequent choices, and the choices keep getting poorer because we as people are becoming poorer in our beings, while we become materially wealthier. It's tragic.