Though I be far from home, I sense a warm fuzzy feeling has descended over the land. (Though since I am using the Sydney Morning Herald as my primary indicator, maybe I should say the feeling has descended over half the land.)
A contentment from having done the moral thing, to have stood up for justice and for ethics and for virtue. We have overthrown that evil man and finally the wildernesses of morality and the Australian “fair-go” can blossom.
The columnists are excited, hope has infused their hearts:
“We are awake, now. We have changed. We are feistier, less acquiescent, more engaged. We are hungry for inspiration.
The big picture is coming back into focus. We are still struggling against feelings of powerlessness, but there's renewed optimism that we might be able to do something to improve the state of the world - in the local neighbourhood and on the planet at large.”
Sleepers Awoke From Slumber of Indifference, Hugh McKay, 27 Nov 07, SMH
“Perhaps reflecting their own values, the Libs assumed the goal of material comfort reigned supreme in the electorate's mind - that, when you got right down to it, nothing was more important than keeping the good times rolling. They discovered to their surprise that we do care about fairness, for others as well as ourselves; we do care about achieving a reasonable balance between work and life; and we do want our leaders to uphold reasonable standards of honesty and decency in public life.”
A Vote For Honesty and Decency, Ross Gittins, 28 Nov 07, SMH
“The history of a nation is made by its people as much as its governments. Governments can feed the flame of human decency and compassion or seek to quench it, but they can't make people decent and humane if they aren't. Australians are. It's that which makes our future so bright.”
Change In Government – Now For the Country, Tanya Plibersek, 28 Nov 07, SMH
“Nations get a chance to change course every now and then. 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.”
A Chance to Rebuild, After a Decade of Moral Erosion, Paul Keating, 22 Nov 07, SMH
I read these articles, and even my proven cynical soul started to be swayed by the rhetoric. A feeling of hope shot through me, I jumped in my seat a little. Patriotism started to rise, and I began to dream about a great country who could do great things. To save the environment, to save the downtrodden (be it asylum seekers, low-income workers, indigenous Australians), to save the few values that our society still retains. Maybe our new government can do this!
But, well, really? And are we really the paragon of virtue we profess to be?
Is the desert flowering and the wilderness blossoming?
Well cough splutter, hey.
Has ever a government existed over the course of human history which has not extorted, raped, pillaged, murdered, corrupted its citizens, lied, thieved and defiled?
Humans cannot fix their self-created problems. They do not have the goodness within them to do so. In no way does this give us the excuse to do nothing about the state of our world, but we need to acknowledge the real source of our problems in order to understand the only real solution.
Psalm 14:2-3 states the difficulty clearly:
“God looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
Why is our world warming? Why do children die from starvation? Why do beggars and landmine victims line the streets of Phnom Penh? Why are children sold into prostitution or into the army?
The answer is simple really. We as a human race are selfish. Evil. Corrupt.
That doesn’t exclude you. It doesn’t exclude me. It certainly doesn’t exclude Kevin Rudd or any other future leader of this country.
If we are really so interested in morality, why not choose a government which will deliver that? Guaranteed. No broken promises. No excuses or justifications.
Someone has solutions. And why?
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:9.
A government is coming. One with a king who will “take pity on the weak and the needy”, who will “judge in righteousness”, and whose people will live in a place where “water will gush forth in the wilderness” and “the sound of weeping and crying heard no more”. Psalm 72, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 35, Isaiah 65
Jesus Christ is the only solution to this world and its messes. Kevin Rudd may melt your heart by signing the Kyoto Protocol, but really, is that going to change the world?
A contentment from having done the moral thing, to have stood up for justice and for ethics and for virtue. We have overthrown that evil man and finally the wildernesses of morality and the Australian “fair-go” can blossom.
The columnists are excited, hope has infused their hearts:
“We are awake, now. We have changed. We are feistier, less acquiescent, more engaged. We are hungry for inspiration.
The big picture is coming back into focus. We are still struggling against feelings of powerlessness, but there's renewed optimism that we might be able to do something to improve the state of the world - in the local neighbourhood and on the planet at large.”
Sleepers Awoke From Slumber of Indifference, Hugh McKay, 27 Nov 07, SMH
“Perhaps reflecting their own values, the Libs assumed the goal of material comfort reigned supreme in the electorate's mind - that, when you got right down to it, nothing was more important than keeping the good times rolling. They discovered to their surprise that we do care about fairness, for others as well as ourselves; we do care about achieving a reasonable balance between work and life; and we do want our leaders to uphold reasonable standards of honesty and decency in public life.”
A Vote For Honesty and Decency, Ross Gittins, 28 Nov 07, SMH
“The history of a nation is made by its people as much as its governments. Governments can feed the flame of human decency and compassion or seek to quench it, but they can't make people decent and humane if they aren't. Australians are. It's that which makes our future so bright.”
Change In Government – Now For the Country, Tanya Plibersek, 28 Nov 07, SMH
“Nations get a chance to change course every now and then. 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.”
A Chance to Rebuild, After a Decade of Moral Erosion, Paul Keating, 22 Nov 07, SMH
I read these articles, and even my proven cynical soul started to be swayed by the rhetoric. A feeling of hope shot through me, I jumped in my seat a little. Patriotism started to rise, and I began to dream about a great country who could do great things. To save the environment, to save the downtrodden (be it asylum seekers, low-income workers, indigenous Australians), to save the few values that our society still retains. Maybe our new government can do this!
But, well, really? And are we really the paragon of virtue we profess to be?
Is the desert flowering and the wilderness blossoming?
Well cough splutter, hey.
Has ever a government existed over the course of human history which has not extorted, raped, pillaged, murdered, corrupted its citizens, lied, thieved and defiled?
Humans cannot fix their self-created problems. They do not have the goodness within them to do so. In no way does this give us the excuse to do nothing about the state of our world, but we need to acknowledge the real source of our problems in order to understand the only real solution.
Psalm 14:2-3 states the difficulty clearly:
“God looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
Why is our world warming? Why do children die from starvation? Why do beggars and landmine victims line the streets of Phnom Penh? Why are children sold into prostitution or into the army?
The answer is simple really. We as a human race are selfish. Evil. Corrupt.
That doesn’t exclude you. It doesn’t exclude me. It certainly doesn’t exclude Kevin Rudd or any other future leader of this country.
If we are really so interested in morality, why not choose a government which will deliver that? Guaranteed. No broken promises. No excuses or justifications.
Someone has solutions. And why?
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:9.
A government is coming. One with a king who will “take pity on the weak and the needy”, who will “judge in righteousness”, and whose people will live in a place where “water will gush forth in the wilderness” and “the sound of weeping and crying heard no more”. Psalm 72, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 35, Isaiah 65
Jesus Christ is the only solution to this world and its messes. Kevin Rudd may melt your heart by signing the Kyoto Protocol, but really, is that going to change the world?
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