Dreams and Nightmares
28/08/2013 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaA certain anniversary occurred today. The serpent was not around at the time but has good reason to suspect that 28th August 1963 was also a Wednesday. Radio National has been celebrating for the last few weeks. The event in question was the civil rights march on Washington where the preacher Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech
Today’s radio story talked about the events in the 1950s including the bus boycotts and sit ins. I grew up with the images of the water hoses and snarling dogs let loose upon the protestors. Especially interesting was the tactic of non violent resistance which is much harder than it looks. Suppressing one’s natural impulse to beat the shit out of anyone who hits you or spits in your face would take a serious amount of self discipline.
Half a century later it still gets rated as one of the best speeches of all time in the English speaking world. You don’t have to be black, American or Christian to appreciate its elegance and passion. You probably don’t even need to understand English to appreciate its significance as it depends so much on repetition of ideas rather than rhyming for its effect so would probably do well in translation
It was so unusual to find a leader who did not want to play by the old rules of ‘Divide and conquer’ or “If you are not with us, you are against us” and the old favourite “Four legs good, two legs bad”
The idea of appealing to the better side of not just your own followers but your oppressor too and actually getting results that way was truly unusual and inspiring. Dr King had well and truly been studying the power tactics of Jesus Christ
Some 45 years later along comes Barack Obama with the beautiful voice and eloquent speeches. But they turned out to be all hot air and empty words. Even worse, he wants to build his heavenly city with stones stolen from its very foundation. Recent events in Cairo have made such a mockery of his words there some years ago.
The Dream was such a contrast to today’s performance of the pollies. In the third of three so called debates between the leaders of the two main political parties here in Oz, it was yet more of the same. The present prime minister Kevin Rudd has the gift of the gab but a totally condescending tone like he thinks his audience are complete imbeciles. He never shuts up and all he ever has to say is how awful his opponent is. This from a man who only three weeks ago proclaimed that the days of nasty negativity in political campaigning were over. His New Way is looking very old indeed
Unlike most folks, I listen to this stuff on the radio. It’s hard to know if it is a good or bad thing not to have to endure the smirks and crazy hand gestures of Kevin 747 and the murderous stare of the Mad Monk.
Tony Abbott mumbles and stumbles with his words as if his years of boxing had permanently scrambled his brain. He speaks slowly in three word slogans. Cannot quite work out is it because he is stupid or he thinks his listeners are.
Best suggestion ever came from the audience member who asked something along the lines “If each of you could ask the other one question what would it be?”
It is scary to think that in a nation of some 23 million people these two are the best we can get for the top job. Both of them have had a charisma bypass, They are boring old farts but worst of all narcissistic egotists on a grand power trip.
This evening there was a public question and answers forum featuring a panel of candidates for the Senate. The ALP candidate spent most of her time telling us how much she cares for drowning asylum seekers, weeping for innocent Syrian children and warning us all how scary it would be having the Mad Monk in the Lodge. The Wikileaks candidate was open and transparent until the topic turned to how his party has allocated its preferences. Then he became vague and very slippery indeed. The guy from the Australian Sex Party did not turn up so we had to rely on one of Katter’s creatures to keep us all amused.
It was a fun evening but not quite in the same league as the event where the Australian Sex Party and Pirate Party people turned up
Soon it will be all over and we will have to wait another 3 years for the next pollies road show. Here’s hoping that Malcolm Turnbull has been sharpening his steak knives. Three years of the mad monk is too much even for a dedicated masochist
PS Updated to include two dream kitchen make overs for the Lodge
Kitchen Cabinets and other cute IKEA accessories
Today’s radio story talked about the events in the 1950s including the bus boycotts and sit ins. I grew up with the images of the water hoses and snarling dogs let loose upon the protestors. Especially interesting was the tactic of non violent resistance which is much harder than it looks. Suppressing one’s natural impulse to beat the shit out of anyone who hits you or spits in your face would take a serious amount of self discipline.
Half a century later it still gets rated as one of the best speeches of all time in the English speaking world. You don’t have to be black, American or Christian to appreciate its elegance and passion. You probably don’t even need to understand English to appreciate its significance as it depends so much on repetition of ideas rather than rhyming for its effect so would probably do well in translation
It was so unusual to find a leader who did not want to play by the old rules of ‘Divide and conquer’ or “If you are not with us, you are against us” and the old favourite “Four legs good, two legs bad”
The idea of appealing to the better side of not just your own followers but your oppressor too and actually getting results that way was truly unusual and inspiring. Dr King had well and truly been studying the power tactics of Jesus Christ
Some 45 years later along comes Barack Obama with the beautiful voice and eloquent speeches. But they turned out to be all hot air and empty words. Even worse, he wants to build his heavenly city with stones stolen from its very foundation. Recent events in Cairo have made such a mockery of his words there some years ago.
The Dream was such a contrast to today’s performance of the pollies. In the third of three so called debates between the leaders of the two main political parties here in Oz, it was yet more of the same. The present prime minister Kevin Rudd has the gift of the gab but a totally condescending tone like he thinks his audience are complete imbeciles. He never shuts up and all he ever has to say is how awful his opponent is. This from a man who only three weeks ago proclaimed that the days of nasty negativity in political campaigning were over. His New Way is looking very old indeed
Unlike most folks, I listen to this stuff on the radio. It’s hard to know if it is a good or bad thing not to have to endure the smirks and crazy hand gestures of Kevin 747 and the murderous stare of the Mad Monk.
Tony Abbott mumbles and stumbles with his words as if his years of boxing had permanently scrambled his brain. He speaks slowly in three word slogans. Cannot quite work out is it because he is stupid or he thinks his listeners are.
Best suggestion ever came from the audience member who asked something along the lines “If each of you could ask the other one question what would it be?”
It is scary to think that in a nation of some 23 million people these two are the best we can get for the top job. Both of them have had a charisma bypass, They are boring old farts but worst of all narcissistic egotists on a grand power trip.
This evening there was a public question and answers forum featuring a panel of candidates for the Senate. The ALP candidate spent most of her time telling us how much she cares for drowning asylum seekers, weeping for innocent Syrian children and warning us all how scary it would be having the Mad Monk in the Lodge. The Wikileaks candidate was open and transparent until the topic turned to how his party has allocated its preferences. Then he became vague and very slippery indeed. The guy from the Australian Sex Party did not turn up so we had to rely on one of Katter’s creatures to keep us all amused.
It was a fun evening but not quite in the same league as the event where the Australian Sex Party and Pirate Party people turned up
Soon it will be all over and we will have to wait another 3 years for the next pollies road show. Here’s hoping that Malcolm Turnbull has been sharpening his steak knives. Three years of the mad monk is too much even for a dedicated masochist
PS Updated to include two dream kitchen make overs for the Lodge
Kitchen Cabinets and other cute IKEA accessories
