Colleagues and scholars from coast to coast, across Bass Strait and all the ships at sea.
Dateline: Australia, Federal Politics 2011.
Among the emotions and values that humans regard most highly, three stand out: hope, truth and love.
So highly revered are these values that in many cultures, especially Greek, parents use them as names for their daughters. There can be no higher honour.
The Greek word for hope is elpitha - ελπίδα. The Greek word for truth is alithea - αλήθεια. The Greek word for love is agape - ἀγάπη.
All values that people hold dear; all values that parents instill in their children; and all values ignored by the business of politics.
Tragically, too often, the emotions and values that politics prefers to trade in are: fear, greed and hate.
The Greek word for fear is phobos - φόβος. The Greek word for greed is pleonexia - πλεονεξία. The Greek word for hate is miso - μισώ.
All are emotions and values that parents do not wish to instill in their children and, unsurprisingly, do not use as names for them. Yet in the business of politics, it is quite acceptable, even admired, to employ these same negative emotions for political gain.
The putrid stench of negative appeals
Information from research, uncovered by intellectually indolent and contemptible pollsters (who regard service to their client's needs more highly than service to their nation's needs) is fed to unscrupulous political advisors who combine it with the hunger for power of ruthless politicians with a 'win at all cost' mentality, to produce a poisonous and putrid package of policies designed to exploit fear, greed and hate, which, as a result, corrode the very soul of the nation.
Such politicians place their own ambition ahead of their nation's ambition; their own needs ahead of their nation's needs; their own advancement ahead, and at the expense, of their nation's advancement.
They are not at all concerned about appealing to the very worst in our nature to get them into power. Whatever is required is acceptable. Yet, such a political victory would be a decidedly hollow one for any decent human being. It would be akin to acquiring money by 'rolling' drunks in the park as opposed to hard honest work and would leave such a sour taste in the mouth that any reasonable person could not possibly enjoy the 'fruits' of their labour.
Rather than appeal to fear, greed and hate, perhaps they should consider appealing to hope, truth and love. Maybe they would find the tone of the political environment would lift considerably; maybe the public would respond more favourably; maybe, at the very least, they would feel better about what it is they do every day.
Many may scoff and insist that such negative emotions and values are the currency of politics and to suggest otherwise is fanciful and naive. Yet, politics is a reflection of society and society is made up of adults and children, are they suggesting that one is somehow separate from the other? Or that the values they instill in their children are only to be observed within the boundaries of their home, and outside those boundaries 'anything goes'?
Surely political debates and discussions can occur without resorting to the use of such negative appeals. Surely the political environment can be a catalyst to improve the national environment, not degrade it. Surely the values that parents want to teach their children are more than good enough for those in the business of politics to employ for the nation at large.
It's well past time this addiction to negative appeals was excised, even exorcised, from the business of politics.
It's well past time this self-serving and destructive approach to politics ceased.
It's well past time for a little of this.
It's well past time for a little of this.
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