G'day All, I'm reminded of the minor prophet (the name escapes me for the moment) who at divine instruction marries a prostitute in order to demonstrate (rather vividly!) the faithlessness of the people.
Somehow it seems to me as though the whole concept of democracy, with all her high ideals, has become nothing more than a prostitute to whom we find ourselves painfully and irrevocably bound. Why is it so? Largely due to the art of marketing IMHO. Can anything be done? I'm not hopeful. Four Corners last night on US politics-church dynamics was very scary and I only caught the last few minutes. As I cast my vote for the senate on Saturday, I observed that there were many parties that I didn't want to vote for and precious few that I did want to see in power. [And as an aside, personally I was appalled to see Heffernan at the top of the Lib/Nat ticket for NSW after his shocking history.] But I do like the idea which Judy described of giving ones vote as a gift to someone less fortunate, a charitable act, a Christ-like and selfless deed. If enough people bought into the concept, maybe the major parties would need to respond in policy. Taking it to an extreme ... remember that federal elections are a big money spinner. Candidates who get over 4% first preference votes are paid over $1 per vote, without having to prove expenses. So the idea would be to set up a party, run a very low-cost campaign, and devote the proceeds to charity. I'm not sure that it is consistent with democratic ideals but is doesn't seem any worse than the way it works now. Kind regards, Lindsay Brash. ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
