RAGE against the incessant news cycle

A bit miffed that Rage was bumped off the ABC airways on Saturday morning because they decided to run a news program instead, can only assume because of the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine - isn’t that what ABC NEWS 24 is for!! The absolute horror of this event is indisputable but do we have to have it rammed down our throats by each and every media outlet. And I know that this may seem a bit callous but hasn’t this all happened before? Many times? On September 1, 1983, KAL007 was shot down by a Soviet fighter plane, killing all 269 passengers and crew. On July 3, 1988, an American cruiser, the USS Vincennes, mistook Iran Air Flight 655 for an F-14, and launched two missiles, downing the plane and killing all 290 passengers and crew. These are just two examples of militia downing passenger aircraft. Russia, the US, China, Israel and even NATO have done it. So it really should not come as such as a surprise – when you create such diabolical weapons, for whatever purpose, someone’s gonna get hurt.  If you think this is worse because this time it involved Australian citizens, think again. 

Mal Brough has got a real hide.

My local federal member, Mal Brough (LNP) has just emailed me wanting me to donate money and recruit others to donate money for an individual on the Sunshine Coast who has some serious health issues.

Below is the email:

Dear Sean,

 

You won’t be expecting an email on this matter from me, but I feel that that it is so important that it warrants this contact and I hope you won’t be offended.  If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact my office on 07 54 444 888.  You may have seen this story on the Chanel 9 News tonight and in local media.

 

James is a 6 year. old Sunshine Coast boy who urgently needs surgery and treatment for a rare brain tumour.

 

We need to raise $40,000.00 by 5:00 pm tomorrow plus another $40,000.00 by close of business Monday and another $20,000 by the end of next week.

 

 

James’ Tree of Life has been planted and we need you to take 4 simple steps to keep James’ tree growing:

 

Step 1. Donate your $5  or more right now!!! Click here to donate now!!

 

Step 2. Now personally ask 2 friends to also donate $5 (or more)

 

Step 3. Have your 2 friends confirm their donation and have them contact 2 of their friends to continue the growth of James Tree of Life within 24 hours.

 

Step 4. Share this email, post on your facebook page and tweet it,  #jamestreeoflife & #lovejames .

 

Give this beautiful little boy the best chance at life, DONATE NOW! 

http://www.rarecancers.org.au/my-fundraising/62/help-us-to-help-james

 

Donations are tax deductible (over $2)

 

Regards,

 

 

 

The Hon.  Mal Brough MP

Federal Member for Fisher

This is my response:

Dear Mal,

I was not aware that your position involved raising money for individuals with health issues. Could you please spend your time working for the general public and not distracting the electorate by opportunistically exploiting the suffering of a six year old child.

Yours sincerely,

Sean Crawley

A Bold Comment Declaring Education’s Failure (excluding my alphabetical sensibility)

In attempts to get some sort of handle on the world’s current problems, a neat label, the three Es, standing for Energy, Economy and Environment, has sprung up. These three systems are massive, complex and interconnected, but so are Facebook, Fashion and Fame – let’s call them the three Fs. So when someone claims that the problems of the world are too big and complex to think about, I say bullshit.

What I believe has happened is that our culture, primarily perpetuated by the 13 or so years of Compulsory, Competitive and Commodified schooling  (the three Cs), has effectively stopped us from questioning and thinking about anything of real importance - and don’t try to tell me that celebrities, or tourist destinations, or professional sports are important.

Now we do get all puffed up, even politically, about Education, but all that hot air boils down to throwing money at ways to increase the measurable performance scores of the next generation. Any decent parent will inform you of the financial sacrifices they are prepared to make, and that are necessary, for their kids to get ahead in the real world.  They know that the bits of paper handed out on completion are the tickets to a prosperous and happy life that they are happy to pay for  - and even happy  for the government to tax us for so they can chip in as well. These same parents, when their 17 or 18 year olds, who didn’t get into medicine or law, run berserk at "schoolies”, don’t ask “what are we actually doing to our children?” but instead judge the youth of today as lazy, spoilt, disrespectful and ungrateful.  So the oft touted remedy that kids these days should get away from their computers, and off their iphones, and get outside, and climb a tree, is an insult considering we lock them up in classrooms, demand they master the latest technology, and when we do allow them outside, say on an excursion to the beach, we tell them they can’t take their shoes off because of Health and Safety Policy!

The predicament that the human species finds itself in needs serious and critical contemplation, not by the privileged few with time on their hands, but by the masses -  who despite years of schooling and further education find themselves on the 24/7 treadmill of consumption and debt slavery.  Unfortunately schools, and now even the universities as well, have become institutions that, with impunity, effectively crush the innate human capacity to question and learn.

*******

A Poem for the modern world from C to F

Compulsory, competitive, commodified  culture, crushing curiosity and creativity.

Damning all denizens to a destiny of debt, dullness, denial and doom.

Exponential exploitation of energy, environment and economy to the edge of extinction.

Fumbling in a farcical fog of facebook, fashion and fame, in fear of food, famine and failure.

Birth, School, Work, Death

The following article was published in Issue 2 of SHIFT MAGAZINE
http://shift-magazine.org/

 “There is no greater modern illusion, even fraud, than the use of the single term “work” to cover what for some is … dreary, painful, socially demeaning and what for others is enjoyable, socially reputable and economically rewarding”

JK Galbraith

********

In good faith, many of us accept the conventional wisdoms of our times and get on with life according to the scripts already written for us by society. Parents, schools and workplaces enculturate us to believe that being a member of a modern progressive liberal society is a blessing that we should grateful for. Respect for the traditions of family, education and work is expected and if one does adhere to the rules a rewarding and comfortable life is the widely advertised outcome. Governments and business promote a strong narrative that the current versions of democracy and capitalism are the essential (and only viable) foundations that guarantee the peace, freedom, equal opportunity and material standards that humankind deserves. The implication is that, without the business as usual model, where governments – under the guise of protecting an individual’s basic human rights – allow the unfettered and unlimited accumulation of private wealth to continue unabated, we would all likely descend into some sort of pre-Renaissance and Enlightenment chaos.

Consequently citizens of the modern world, with tacit consent, have no option but to get on the economic treadmill and follow the simple script of birth, school, work and death. The dream, promised by the western world’s doctrine of progress, which promises abundance for all, and increased leisure time (yes you can stop laughing now), is vanishing in front of our closed eyes. The party is over and all that’s left is a nasty hangover and a lot of rubbish to deal with. The privileged few who got in early, and who have benefited from the obscene flow of wealth their way, may still be enjoying the twilight hours of materialism, but even they are waking up at night with fear in their own stomachs as the discontent amongst the financially indebted working class who have realised that their mindless participation on the employment/consumption treadmill is what is really driving the aging and tired economic beast.

BIRTH

An increasing number of parents are starting to “educate” their unborn children in an attempt to give them the very best start in life. The frequent and disturbing vision of three year old violin virtuosos and other pre-schoolers  that have been trained by hyped-up parents to perform feats of intelligence and skill is bad enough; now it seems that the peace and solitude of our very first moments of life are being interrupted, in utero, by ambitious parents determined to give their children a better life than the rest of the teeming mass of humanity that they are being born into.

It’s likely too that these very same parents have already decided upon, and wrangled their way onto the waiting lists of, the very best schooling options for their progeny. This can, and is, argued by many as a pragmatic strategy, as the truth that their child will need every last qualification on offer to secure a decent paying career is hard to refute. In a world where literally everything has a price tag is this not the best way to play the game?

Gestation has now, along with the other stages of childhood and adolescence, been hijacked as valuable time for moulding the next generation. The days of a cosy, warm and quiet womb to develop some of your finishing touches as a human being are well and truly over. We are observing and measuring their every parameter and behaviour so we can design programs of development under the pretence that without exploiting every last opportunity for our unborn children they will be disadvantaged in the human race to get ahead of the pack. To leave them be and just be embryos is deemed as unacceptable, even irresponsible, now that leaving children alone to be just children is  a long-forgotten figment of the past.  The whole practice of preparing the next generation to be smarter, faster and harder than their ancestors so they can enter the workforce to pay for an existence in a world where everything has a market value is a crime for which humanity is yet to be judged.

Check out www.babyplus.com if you want to learn more or, should I say, if you want your unborn baby to learn more. As one of the so-called experts, Brent Logan, says:

 “Every Child Deserves Giftedness, Every expectant parent owes their offspring at least consideration of a choice that simply as well as safely furnishes those means by which the individual, family, and entire human community will benefit beyond measure.“

SCHOOL

When I accepted a voluntary redundancy as a science teacher from the only senior high school in the region many of my peers thought I was mad.  After 13 years of compulsory schooling, three years at teachers’ college and 15 years as a high school teacher, I admit I was ready to leave school. However, the main reason was that the vast majority of students, especially those in my favourite subject, Physics, had absolutely no interest in learning or understanding the world, and were only concerned with getting the highest mark possible so that they could gain entrance into a university course that would lead to the highest paying job. The list of most desired careers for senior high school students correlates very neatly with the list of highest paying careers. Future income was the main, perhaps only, motivation for attending school at all. My experience was that the education system, by Years 11 and 12 – if not earlier – had effectively extinguished any semblance of innate curiosity or love of learning in the youth that we are hoodwinking to do their best and study hard.

What I was unable to understand then, and now, twenty years later, is why institutionalising our children from five to eighteen into a compulsory and competitive education system, primarily designed as preparation for participation in the workforce, is largely unquestioned. The public debate about education, which involves parents, teachers, employers and politicians (note the absence of children here) chiefly centres around raising academic performance for the purpose of boosting the productivity and economy of the nation. History will judge harshly the intention and methods of this era of compulsory training of children for the workforce.

WORK

Nowadays, after a succession of different jobs, my paid employment has decreased in hours and pay rate. My aim since leaving teaching was to find work that, at the very least, did not induce nausea from about 2pm on a Sunday afternoon. Some people, including some very close to me at the time, tried to enlighten me that people did not enjoy work but simply did it as a means to gain sufficient money to enjoy the time that they were not at work. When I refused to swallow this upside-down maxim I was branded a dreamer and told to “get real”. What ended up being “real” was that, as I did find meaningful employment that consequently paid less money, the happier I became. The script dictated that as a member of the society I was required to work full time, until 65 years of age, and up until then I ought to be grateful for weekends and holidays to compensate for five full days of drudgery. I was not blind and knew of many people who loved waking up each day because of the work they did. If that was unrealistic, and was an illusion for dreamers, then I wanted to reside 100% in dreamland. The realistic option was way too depressing and reeked of submission, submission to cultural norms that I had always been suspicious of.

The ubiquitous mantra of economic growth and job creation is understandable when one considers the financial processes that rule every aspect of our lives. In simple terms, if everything is a commodity with a price tag, then everyone must work to earn money to buy goods and services to survive and join in the world as it exists. Everyone must pay their way. Today for the first time humans must face the reality that our population has reached a point where there are no commons left for people to be free, and there are no new lands to start afresh. When every cubic metre of the planet is owned or controlled by someone or something there is no option for newcomers but to enter into the fray and compete with everyone else for an ever-decreasing share of space and time to lead some form of, at best, satisfactory life. Equal opportunity in a capitalist market place, made free under the rule of democracy, is becoming harder and harder for the corporatized mass media to sell to the mass of people chained to the treadmill of unhealthy workplaces and meaningless activity. But the general apathy, chiefly caused by a lack of time to even contemplate the fear and ignorance that bind us, plays into the hands of the wealthy elite. The dream is over, unlimited wealth for all was never viable in the first place, and what is needed now is a stock-take of the remaining resources, and some just and rational decisions about distribution, conservation and future sustainability. The race for individuals to get ahead is only intensifying, and dividing humanity further and further.

Relentless and increasing pressure in the workplace to lift productivity and profits is taking its toll on many. The belief that your income or salary is a measure of how hard or smart you are working only adds insult to injury to the masses who are finding that the working life is actually detrimental, and not beneficial to the quality of life.

DEATH

Because we are all living longer does that mean we have to retire later? Does that also mean we have to populate the world with a fresh new generation of highly skilled young and fit specimens to get on that treadmill to grow the economy even further to pay for us oldies? Is in utero training for the next generation starting to appeal more and more to the prospects for my retirement?

The treasurer of Australia recently announced that the age of entitlement is over. The ideal that as we age we will be looked after is also vanishing before our eyes. Those of us who entered the workforce believing that our hard work would pay off in the end must surely be justifiably pissed off. The cost of our health care is now deemed to be too much of a burden for the public purse. How this sentiment can be even uttered in a world where bucket loads of money seems to defy gravity and every other law of nature to float effortlessly upwards to those heavenly members on the rich lists gnaws ferociously at every bone of common sense in my earthly body. The growing number of ordinary people who went to work for 50 years or so cannot expect to be looked after anymore. If you are not a self-funded retiree, you are simply classed as a burden on society. To top this off, in middle age many of us feel guilty that we are not able to care for our own ageing parents. The irony is that many of us are working – or seeking work – in the growing industry of aged care because we are prepared to care for the aging, but we still have mortgages or rent to pay. We cannot afford to do it out of love or duty to our own aging parents; we can only do it for money. Logistically, as well, the diaspora created by outrageous property price growth means that many of us live further out on the expanding fringe of suburbia, hours away from where our parents still cling to their over-valued homes. In many cases mum and dad have actually had to reverse mortgage the family home to purchase adequate aged care from strangers in profit-making retirement villages.

The dream of modern democratic capitalistic society is suffocating in the limited finite world in which it was dreamed up. A free-for-all competition of everyone against everyone was never going to be a suitable model for human existence on this planet. The unlimited growth required for such an ideology is hitting the wall north, south, east and west. The mad scramble for what is left is getting uglier by the minute. The treadmill we are all on is spinning faster and faster and the axles holding it all in place are wearing mighty thin. Those who profess that collapse is inevitable, and who are building the lifeboats, have given up on any trust in human nature to wake up and do something to avert disaster. I salute you for a virtuous display of human foresight and planning. I personally am hedging some of my remaining energy and time on a new revival of human consciousness and collective action to change course, even if it that needs to be a 180 degree about-turn, for a while at least. My personal actions at stepping off, to some degree, the treadmill of Birth-School-Work-and-Death has been something that others have had a geek at. When I smile and laugh and write and question, and when just one person with their head down, racing against the clock and seven billion others, slows down just a bit to have that geek at me, and in puzzlement wonders why the hell  does that guy look so happy, that’s when I know it’s been a good day.

Democracy - you get who the majority vote for

Last Federal election I volunteered for a few hours and handed out how to vote flyers for the The Greens in my electorate, Fisher on the Sunshine Coast in Qld. It was to no avail and Mal Brough for the LNP won the seat. Anyone who did even the most preliminary research on this man would never have voted for him. I recently wrote to Mal to ask if he believed that the planned massive coal operations in the Galilee Basin would damage the environment. He disagreed with me and stated that mining this coal and selling it to India would actually be good for the environment. (see: http://fourtwentytwoam.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/mal-broughs-unbelievable-position-on.html )

Regardless of my dissatisfaction with the election outcome, the overwhelming feel that I got from the voters on that fateful day last September, was that they were pissed off that they had to take time out from their precious Saturday to vote. The general attitude of apathy was appalling. The consequences of the Australian public’s apathy, have become crystal clear just eight months after the LNP were voted in. The cries of “I didn’t vote for Abbott” are too late. The attitude that it doesn’t matter who is in government, because their all as bad as each other, has been blown out of the water. Sure it could be argued that Labour lost the election, but does that mean that to mindlessly vote in the other team is the right thing to do?

The current focus on Tony Abbott breaking election promises is a thinly veiled attempt to cover up the disappointing apathy and ignorance that the general public displayed by voting in a right winged conservative political party. The disdain and contempt that they are showing for ordinary people at present is hardly surprising.

Did anyone seriously believe that the LNP were ever going to look after the interests of the common people? 

Bonfire of the Vanities

With Jet fighters, retirement age and Medicare co-payments jumping from $6 to $15 overnight, the dismantling of the 18-month old Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) seems likely to slip under the ever increasingly inefficient media radar. This was originally lumped into the "red-tape bonfire" but was postponed thanks to some sanity remaining in the senate. Submissions to a Federal Senate Commission will be closed today. For more background see:  https://newmatilda.com//2014/04/29/independence-charities-under-threat

I had a go and this is my submission:

Submission to Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill 2014.

I strongly urge the Federal Government not to abolish the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

·         This legislation, and Commission, have only been in existence for a very short time period and, therefore, it is totally unreasonable that the legislation should be ‘lumped in’ with outdated and irrelevant legislation in the so called “red tape bon fire”.

·         The reasons for the establishment of this Commission are sound and supported by the majority of registered charities and not for profit organisations.

·          I have worked in both paid and voluntary positions for not for profit organisations that have charity status and have first-hand experience of the invaluable work that they do. Much of this work has been handed over to the not for profit sector for various reasons, though usually economic, by the governments of the day. An independent regulator for this huge sector of Australian endeavour is vital for both the accountability and protection of this sector.

·         Not for profit organisations with charitable status deliver cost effective and essential services that are fundamentally within the charter of the government’s responsibility to both its citizens and our environment. Considering the current government’s obsession with the state of the economy, and considering the massive contribution and savings to the public purse, directly attributable to this sector, it would be absurd to proceed with any actions that could potentially damage it.

Sincerely,

Sean Crawley

Disappointment with "The Monthly" - Mag turns to Rag

Have you ever read the magazine "The Monthly"?  I have, I really like it and subscribed for six months. When the subscription ran out they sent me a complimentary copy in April. It was a nice gesture - sure they enclosed an insert to encourage me to "get reacquainted, resubscribe today and save 36%" - fair enough. I considered doing just that. However, when I opened the issue for a cursory perusal, I found on page 5 a full page add for the ANZ Bank and page 7 a full page add for Chevron (coal seam gas junkies). Frankly I was astounded and disappointed and left my credit card in its wallet.

I felt obliged to write to them:

24/04/2014

To whom it may concern

Recently you sent me a complimentary issue (April 2014) of The Monthly after my subscription had expired. As I do regard your publication as excellent in many regards I was thinking of renewing the subscription. However, after opening the magazine and finding full page advertisements for the ANZ Bank and for Chevron (Natural Gas) I immediately decided not to subscribe.

I am totally bemused by the fact that a publication that, refreshingly, offers, in quality of journalism and diversity of content, an alternative to mainstream publications that are largely constrained and biased by their reliance on large corporations, would accept advertising from such companies. To accept money from a major private bank, that profits immensely from both outrageous fees and the debt slavery imposed on most Australians to put a roof over their heads, is disappointing at the very least. To accept money from a multinational corporation that will basically steal our natural resources and, in the process destroy the planet's environment, is simply unbelievable for any ethical business.

Yours sincerely

Sean Crawley.

I have not received a response, but yesterday did receive, the May issue of the magazine - again complimentary. A quick scan through the magazine revealed that on pages 5 and 7 the full page ads are this month for the Sydney Film festival and an SBS DVD release. This was quite encouraging and maybe I had actually struck a chord and influenced their choice of advertisers. My delusions of self importance were revealed to be just that. As I flicked through.  I found on page 31, a full page advertisement taken out by Lockheed Martin. The ad is shamelessly promoting their F-35 fighter Jet - "FOR SECURITY. FOR JOBS. FOR AUSTRALIA". 

Not sure if I will write to the subscription department again, but am certain the debit card is staying in the wallet regardless.