atw: Re: National Broadband Network and empathy
- From: Rod Stuart <rod.stuart@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:53:24 +1000
Right on, Peter. Actually it's a good outcome. Things should run a lot
smoother this week with no government at all!
John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" was once on the school curriculum. To bad it
isn't now. You will recall that Mill argues that the only thing that keeps
Liberty alive is the regular discussion of issues among the populace. It
encourages people to think. Today folks are more interested in entertainment
than issues and philosophies.
On 26 August 2010 08:17, Peter G Martin <peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Bill wrote:
>
> *> I am on three newsgroups and all three have this broadband stuff.*
> *> At least 50 emails today. Poles apart as group but same arguments.*
> *> Delete delete delete delete.*
> *>*
>
> Yep, that's all you have to do if you find a good old political argument
> boring.
>
> As long as you remember that the reason we have freedom of speech is so
> that people can express different opinions without being censored, and don't
> want to carry on about people exercising their rights to participate in
> argument about issues they regard as important.
>
> There's an unfortunate "convention" in Australia (probably of stiff-upper
> British origin) that seems to want to suggest that argument about political
> and social issues is "not done".
>
> I find that generally whingeing and wimp-ish nonsense. Why have freedom if
> it's "not done" to exercise it ?
> The time to start whingeing is when someone wants to interfere with that
> freedom.
>
> Locally, there's a more insidious assumption that we don't have to have
> political arguments because really only the politicians don't know what
> everyone else knows and really agrees on, deep down.
>
> Of course that's even sillier nonsense. Have a look at the measure of
> national "agreement" that we now have.
> There are no "clear" national views on anything.
>
> All the more reason for political arguments.
>
> And as another aside, those who always do the easy Aussie thing of slinging
> off at politicians might consider the basic reality that democracy actually
> works pretty well and most of the distrust of politicians in Australia
> verges on a form of self-hatred: the politicians you get (with a few minor
> qualifications) are generally a pretty representative collection in
> miniature of the people who have to vote for them: some are smart, some are
> honest, some are dumb, some are crooked, some are nice people, some are
> arseholes, and most are pretty average, Australian.
>
> *>*
> *> The "election" is over.*
> *>*
>
>
> Hey I musta missed something. It's over ? So who got to form
> government?
>
> -Peter M
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--
Rod Stuart
6 Brickhill Drive
Dilston, TAS 7252, Australia
<rod.stuart@xxxxxxxxx>
M((040) 184 6575 V(03) 6312 5399
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