Skin Flute Symphony

Regardless of if they strike ever again....

the terrorists have won...at least in this country....and the government could not be happier.

What has been created by 9/11, the Bali bombings, London bombings et al, is a culture of fear. People are now more than ever suspicious of their foreign neighbours, even if they have lived next door for 10 years. They are scared of foreign travel, some are concerned about going on public transport...essentially we have become a society forever lookingover our shoulders and jumping at shadows. Agreed, the terrorist threat is there, and is frightening, but it has always been there in one way or another, just before it never actually affected the psyche of the nation so much.

Middle Australia, where the river of racism has always been just below the surface anyways, now feels somewhat justified in its long held attitudes and the current climate makes me believe that if One Nation came back now, they would make a massive mark in all states, not just Queensland. The fact I am thinking this does not bode well for Australia as a society.

In a country built on multiculturism (second only to the US), current attitudes are threatening to put us back to the 1940's. And the current government is rubbing its hands together (as would Labour if they had a clue or any policy.). Whichever party was in power in 2001 must have seen the writing on the wall that they could ride this fear thing for years and not get voted out. How else could a government get voted back in with IR reforms that it has implemented? The only way this happened is cause of the culture of fear that has been created, and the flames of which have been fanned furiously by John Howard and the Liberals. A society in fear will stay with what it knows...a society in fear will be subserviant...a society in fear will line up to join the war (maybe not according to recruiting figures) and the women will all work in munitions factories and bang American sailors on R&R....a society in fear will not want change at the top, it craves stability and don't think for a second that both major parties aren't well aware of that fact.

posted by SkinFluteSymphony @ 5:01 PM