Hockey's "Peace in our time" speech

Joe Hockey, just this week, made a speech to the Sydney Institute and responded to David Maher on QandA in  a way that many thoughtful Australians would welcome .  Joe , bless his socks, tried to set the record straight. Talk about God is important to many Australians and a constant focus on "the fanatics on the other side" is not helpful.

 In doing so, Hocking had to be blunt about myths the ABC constantly like to cultivate. Good on him. Maher was angry -perhaps he thought QandA was a regular church meeting?

You may not like your Bible bashing neighbour, but as that much more balanced show, the Simpsons, shows, he is there, and he doesn't go away.  Maybe your weird neighbour is in fact no more stupid or irrational than any other member of any large world view group are .Everyone is pretty stupid on the Simpsons and thats part of its healthy, reality based  humor. ( Test the facts- not the TVimages, in your own backyard). You may not always like your nagging wife, but she loves you more than anyone else?

No David , while many at the ABC maybe at church most days of the week, busily weeding out bytes that would make the opposition seem reasonable , we are not a secular society, and people of faith are not all unreasonable; some of them lead the most powerful nations just as they did after Diocletion failed to be able to ban the world of Christians by trying to burn every last one of them . Diocletian too, we presume, thought there weren't many of them, and that only mad people would fall for "that stuff". They were members of his cabinet and they went there by choice.

Just like all thinking people, thinking Christians ( you may never seem to see em on ABCTV but they do exist - see Lilies ) wonder how the early stories of Genesis can match up to the things they know. For some of us scientists, its the meaning of "days", or the not so thriving disabilities we are forced to live with, or the really tough apparently  indisciminatory pressures that seem to push us to excuse ourselves from freedom.
To say God loves is indeed only something God can say , because it doesn't often appear that way to us . It is His grand call and you can take or leave it . The discussion is not about something we think ( religion ); its about what God is , and whether we should indeed respect Him/Her/ all 3.
The story, if not ALL the facts, are pretty clear in all those books - so clear that it is agreed by nearly all today, as it was then, to say "that's enough, that's sufficient ".. in the 3rd century. No more is needed to establish the story - take it or leave it - If only the great global warning salvation story was as simple?
David Maher, the high priests of secular determinism, as well as the creation apologists, need to realise that science provides no final proof in either case.
More importantly, as the famous scientist A.N. Whitehead pointed out in relation to the still very relevant disease of "misplaced concreteness" , the medias attempt to control facts and impressions destroys their own  usefulness in public reflection and education; The philosophical advocates case is destroyed by indulging in brilliant feats of explaining away . No such simplicities are acceptable to many scientists and free thinkers; neither should they be;  Neither should such distortion be at home at our ABC.

I use the term "peace in our time" because the dialog is anything from finished . The Libs have a long way to go before they find home.
Many of those bible thumping churchmen who annoyingly tried to convince Chamberlain that he didn't know how to deal with the coming evil, would have gladly given their lives , and even their unwelcome" sermons", if only leaders would have taken their direct , practical and down to earth warnings seriously.

Let no liberal minded person ever forget - We are always at war.

Father Christmas Kevin

Father Christmas Kevin. I coined this title last year when the PM failed to use both pockets in his coat, encouraging his deputy to do the same.
The point is: whenever you give as a leader, you need to take too .
The most recent illustration of his shallow view of the discipline required to change the world is his complete failure to sell the personal Cost of saving the earth.
Like some heavenly minded old man from the clouds he gives the impression that all it takes to change the world is for industry to change its ways - Marx would be pleased------ but noone else should be.

The Highest forms of art -

- often just seek to tell the truth .

There is no escape from the truth in the outstanding film JUMP (2007) ***** By telling the true story of Phillipe Halsman, we ride the rough road of anger , frustration, unfairness, deliberate personal destructiveness and prejudice together.
The scary thing is that many of the real participants in this real life drama were not at war, but were destined to let it happen by their weakness. Are we any different ? Jumping to conclusions about others ?
On the very positive side , I hope you will find the last few films listed here really helpful/enjoyable for your family viewing. Like all the best literature, there is no shurking of the evil lurking on both shoulders .

By putting the mirror up to show/remind us of " how people get in such a mess " we have some chance to further studying the process so we can avoid the very problem for oursleves ...Enjoy.