Rudd was right, but forgot to mention what really matters

Stepping back into to what is colloquially known as Australia’s “top job”; Kevin Rudd said “politics has failed Australians”.

Kevin Rudd - right, but he
 missed what mattered.

Our new Prime Minister was right, but forgot to add that it was not just politics that had faltered, but politicians themselves.

Politicians are embedded in a political paradigm that is broken; a paradigm in which there is a vacuum of ideas about encouraging Australians to prepare for a decidedly different future.

Australian’s have the opportunity on September14 (well, that is presently the date) to change that and elect people who can help us understand and make-ready for that difference.

What is missing, however, are the people, the personalities and the leaders with the intellectual athleticism and the courage to make the essential decisions we need if Australia is to endure the unfolding global differences.

Australians elect their federal representatives in September this year, but their choice, if it is that, is little more than deciding between a Jonathon or a Pink Lady –both are apples, about the same colour, taste pretty much the same and have similar nutritional value.

Irrespective of who we vote for on September 14, little will change and the dynamics of impending disasters that have the world in their thrall will continue to close in.

The agonies of the Labour Party are equally irrelevant, although it seemed Julia Gillard had some grasp on what was needed if Australia, and the world, is to puncture the envelope of difficulties in which we are trapped.

We need leaders who accept and understand the implications and complications of the world’s changing climate; who will lead us through the arising maze of difficulties it will produce; those who will change government priorities to build a country in which emphasis is on small and local; who are sufficiently independent thinkers to comprehend that the paradigm of the past is not feasible in a future in which collapse will be driven by financial disarray, burgeoning population growth, a looming energy crisis, and food and water shortages.

Questioning the effectiveness of our politicians or at least those of her home country, American finance and energy commentator, Nicole Foss, said: "The only things that are likely to come from the top down are problems, not solutions."

“Fixing this situation goes beyond politics; it requires leadership at all levels of society. But politics has a role to play. Both politicians and the electorates they serve must have the courage to enact sweeping policy changes that shift the course of the deep current, not just stir up the surface eddies”, Ms Foss said.

Our politicians continue to waste valuable time as they verbally joust about issues they consider serious, but in reality matter nought when it comes to preserving circumstances in which our communities can flourish.

Rather than worrying about digging up, using and exporting more coal; making us wealthier through financial wheeling and dealing, which by any measure is less than honest; or implicating us further in existing market systems; our politicians should be building resilience in our communities and shaping the lives of Australians in way that would allow them to endure a very different future.

Our present political trajectory driven by bickering and misunderstood wants takes us closer to the abyss, and although we demand courageous and innovative leadership we, as citizens, face an equal ultimatum.

Profit, growth and sexualization of our childredn tied together

Profit and growth are responsible for the sexualization of our children.

Melinda Tankard Reist.

That is the implication of the well-researched views of Canberra author, speaker, media commentator, blogger and advocate for women and girls, Melinda Tankard Reist.

The essence of her views is that the rude drive by companies and corporations to become bigger and more profitable combined with almost total community silence ensures our children will be psychologically damaged and grow to be equally damaged adults.

Ms. Reist, known for her work on the objectification of women and sexualization of girls and working to address violence against women, presented her thesis about the erosion of children’s values recently to nearly 100 people at the Lakeshore Church on the Sunshine Coast.

Her presentation was part of an on-going program introduced to the church by its pastor, L.T. Hopper, to engage his congregation, and others, with contemporary societal issues.

Introducing the church’s second parenting seminar, Pastor Hopper, said: “As a church we are obviously just a bunch of ordinary people who have issues that are common to everyone and so particularly as parent myself I know that I’m a bit like a beggar myself looking for crumbs when it comes to getting help when it comes to being a parent.”

In introducing Ms. Reist, he said most parents were really at a loss when confronted with the issues about to be discussed..

Her concerns were primarily about girls, but she was also alarmed how contemporary society treats boys, who she said were being raised in a “very brutal and callous version of masculinity”.

Ms. Reist began with criticism of a society that celebrates violence, but then considers fining parents who allow their children to become bullies.

She looked at the cultural landscape in which people were struggling to raise happy, healthy and resilient children and asked why is it so hard to raise children? – “It’s the toughest gig in town,” she said.

In what was probably the most daring presentation ever hosted at a church, Ms. Reist took those listening on a tour of the realities of contemporary society showing the acutely sexualized images that children are confronted with every day.

She explained how many international corporations that are either based on sex or profit from sex, portray themselves innocently, but profit handsomely from the corruption of young minds.

She argued that it was the silence of the community that allowed this perverse profiteering to continue.

Many examples of the sexualization of youth were collected by Ms. Reist in Queensland, but frequently from companies that are represented throughout Australia. An example was a padded-bra, which she held up, for a four-year-old.

Ms. Reist argued that all those listening should immediately talk with their local politicians and demand changes to protect our children from sexualization.