One of my favourite movie quotes is Wayne’s buddy Garth scrunching his face and weaselling out the words: “We fear change.” This sums up the Australian body politic for me over the last eleven years.

It is time to push through this fear. Australia i’m asking you to make the change.

My all out favourite quote from this election campaign has been Paul Keating in the Age:
“When things become errant, a wise country adjusts its direction. It understands that it is being granted an appointment with history. On this coming Saturday, this country should take that opportunity by driving a stake through the dark heart of Howard’s reactionary Government.”

My fellow Australians, i urge you to embrace your inner “Buffy the Slayer of Vampyres”. Let’s use our power to clear the undead out of office.

Okay that’s harsh. Calling the leaders of our elected government “the undead” (or rodents) is abusive and inflammatory. If offended, please note that this is intended to be a satirical metaphor for how i perceive their behaviour over the years.

I believe governments have a responsibility to work toward social harmony, not against it.

(images: thanks for sounds of terror by dogwelder and vampire hunting by G2 Pics, both from flickr)

Today’s letter-to-the-editor writers suggest that the Liberal party hacks caught distributing fake pamphlets are another example of a party machine that is thoroughly “beneath contempt“. There’s plenty of community anger over this episode.

Of course the wives knew nothing, and the heads of the party knew nothing.

Just like the heads of the party knew nothing about the Wheat Board giving kickbacks to Saddam. Just like the heads of the party knew nothing about the lies and deliberate deception involved in the ‘children overboard’ case, or in the ‘evidence’ for going to war.

Just like that radio host knew nothing about the effect his words would have on a mob in Cronulla. Just like the Minister knew nothing about the effects his words would have on locals who viciously attacked a young Sudanese man in Melbourne.

What i believe is this:

• African people DO integrate well and happily into mainstream Australian culture, the same as Middle-Eastern people, South-East Asian people, European people and people from all over this wonderful world.
• Nobody threw their children overboard from that boat, but the heads of government happily lied to the people of Australia.
• There was no real evidence to build any case for illegally invading Iraq.
• “Divide and conquer” is a very old and useful strategy: (social division + fear = power)
• As people get more fearful and desperate, they’re more open to irrational suggestions of blame.
  
• Targeting minorities is a way to conceal the deep imbalance in your economics.
• People at the top knew all about those kickbacks to Saddam.
• People at the top are prepared to try anything to grasp onto power.

People running the government for the last ten years know all about FEAR. They know the effect it has on people, and they know they can scare the bewittzies out of us; twisting people’s hearts and guts to fill their minds with bunk. Which they’ve done in every single election campaign this century.

i’m over the fears and lies, and i pray that the Australian people are finally coming to their senses. Wake Up Australia!

One of the wives (a former minister in the current federal government) said the pamphlet was a joke. Just like the Chaser. Ha Ha. Hoo hoo hee. Ho. What a chuckle. Would you like a video re-enactment with that?

Sure and Pauline Handsoff was just a joke too. Well that i could believe if she hadn’t exposed the frightened underbelly of Australian society and given the Leader of the Party something to tickle while he suffocated our freedoms with a huge legislative pillow in the night.

Yeah, no .. the Chaser team is actually Funny!

(Thanks heaps for these great images: toxic by what what, and banksy on the banks by Riv, both flickr)