What are you voting for ?

What are you voting for ???
Draft
Australia is by far one of the best countries in the world, we enjoy tremendous freedoms and while in recent years their has been a stab at more revisionist history as far as race relations go, Australia for the most part has a pretty decent track record despite some dubious policies and regretful moments. The Australia of today is built on the hard work of generations that went before us, those Australians of so many backgrounds and cultures that have blended together to give us a unique and distinct identity. The liberties and freedoms that in previous generations that were rights of Australians are now slowly being withdrawn in an almost stealthy way. A manner that most Australians are either to naive, apathetic or ignorant to notice. We celebrate the fact that we are a democracy, but to the lone sheep sitting at the table with five hungry wolves, to vote what is for lunch, is hardly fair. When we have no real alternatives in party politics, and the issues are essentially slogans and sound bytes, Australians are left with the illusion of democracy all the while the Government gets bigger...and hungrier.

Now in Australia at most levels we have two key parties that while in a traditional sense, they are ideologically opposed, and preach differing philosophies. One is suppose to be about economic conservatism and the rights of the individual, and the other for a more stream lined socialist (though that's a bad word in politics speak these days) government where the government takes care of the people and the 'working family'. The trouble is that in more recent times both parties, in fact all parties favour a form of big government where reforms mean 'regulation' and the rights of the individual in all manners should be decided upon by the Government. Now like anything this comes at great expense. To who ? Well we don't pay tax on EVERYTHING for no reason.
The concept of Government at all levels is that we the people should be represented fairly, the process is supposed to be a service, instead it has become a mechanism of self importance where policy, law and those that 'rule' are above question and do not need to answer the real questions. It is hard to offer an answer when no one is actually asking any questions. And the Government does not answer to anyone but itself. We are told that ignorance of the law is no excuse, yet who determines and writes these new laws ? Those in Government do.
The idea of voting is to send a message to a government or a party that their policies are not right for the majority. What happens when the REAL issues are much the same, and the policies of a campaign are based on slogans and suggested directions of the party. In recent times policy and politics is determined by a populist mindset, where an ever evolving PR machine works in over time, politicians are too reluctant to be honest for fear of Mis-interruption or because the truth is a dangerous thing in our media. And the public...you and I... do not challenge new laws or directions. No one stands up and says, hang on, those are my rights. I do not want them taken away because some one MAY abuse them.
Society is a community of individuals, and it is within this community that we establish rules and laws for the 'common good', the concept of law and order was born from this. Having a Government 'filter' your Internet service, we are told that MAY stop child pornography,(though I am sure child pornography existed before the Internet) I wonder what the Peoples Republic of China uses the same filtering system is for (The PM does like to speak Mandarin), we are told that taxing 'alcopops' will stop teen drinking, yet what of the punishment of those that actually supply the teens the alcohol, and teens drink more than pre mixed drinks now don't they ? We are told that a carbon trading scheme will 'stop climate change' by 'punishing the major emitters' yet what alternatives in infrastructure and energy do these 'polluters' have, and why are certain industries granted 'exemptions' while others shall have to follow this scheme ?What realistic alternative power sources do these nasty carbon emitters have ? None. We are told that people are getting too fat, so the Government should tax 'junk food' and police what we are eating, yet what you and I put into our mouths and whether or not we go for that walk is a right (for the time being), after all this is why we pay GST and a medicare Levy isn't it so that we may call upon these services should we need it someday ? It could go on, but I shall refrain from boring you with more rantings.
It goes on and on, but when ever something is suggested in the media, our 'news' sources simply follow the Big Government line and never brings into question that these freedoms are not to be distributed by a 'know it all' government. Instead we are that sheep, that sits amongst parties of wolves and throws our vote onto the table with no real mechanism for change. The popular media almost never openly brings into question any new law, instead they play populist partisan politics that never really chases the issues, and we the public are more interested in a politicians marital life or what dress they wear, instead of how they will actually serve us in parliament.
No matter what party you vote for at the coming elections, the real issues and policies do not differ, the reason being is that most Australians favour this 'progressive' form of social democracy, we assume that the duty of the state is to take care of everyone, and in doing this the Government attempts to level the playing field, to take from the rich and give to the poor, a noble concept in a Regent aristocracy ten centuries ago, but in an era where getting rich for some means working harder or being more dynamic, that is hardly a fair system. The government is not a parent, and we are not children, each one of us has the right and the responsibility to make or break ourselves, freedom is a beautiful though frightening right. We will always have social welfare networks and philanthropists, but more tax and government spending, over policing of freedoms is not the answers.
So next time you are at the ballot, actually think what you are really voting for, look past the 'promises', slogans and the populism, ask the real questions, are you voting your freedom away? It sounds silly but Karl Mark many years ago had the noble concept of socialism, where every man would be equal in a society, they would have the same income and wealth, the same privileges, where no one whether through birth right, effort, laziness or disadvantage would get behind or ahead of their fellow man. This system seemed wonderful in the 19th century and after many attempts at making it work, we have seen dictatorships and oppression across the world based on this system of Revolution. The road to hell is paved in good intentions, is how it is written.
And now we are in an era of politics, in most western nations where progressives believe in the same concepts of Marx, where the rich are evil and the poor need a hand up, with progressive politics Revolution that Marx sought is now considered, Evolution, though not instantaneous, it does take time and over time the Government expands, grows and has more control and the individual becomes smaller and has less freedoms. This is expressed in our basic income tax system, why should an individual for example that wants to work two jobs pay so much more on the second job ? Shouldn't hard work be rewarded and not punished because a greedy government wants to level the playing field.
So with that vote of yours, and in the period leading up to any election, make your representatives work for you. Demand they answer any and all questions you have, ask them why you should submit to a new law, why you should pay another tax or tariff, why you should work as a financial slave for a third of the year, why you should bow down to a preventative law such as more censorship or firearms control because some one may do wrong, why not punish severely those that do wrong, and not the rest of us. In this era of political correctness, pop media/paparazzi journalism and bureaucratic political representation it is an actual duty of you as the individual to shred your self of general apathy and demand that they work for you.
I shall not summarise who is right and who is wrong in our political system, that is for you to determine as to what you actually believe in, but I will close with a quote from one of the founding fathers of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."
It is an important quote to remember because the role of Government is to serve you, it should always be at work attempting to please and function for us. Whether that means answering questions, staying out of your business at times, and stepping in when crimes have been committed. We want to believe that we can look after everyone through a societal system, but has it not been said that Charity begins in the home, and having a Government take from you because it knows better is often not the answer. You do have the right to ask where what you are paying is going, and why you should pay for another tax, but how often is any of this questioned ?
I may just be like a dog barking into the night, but instead of simply pulling up the sheets and going back to sleep, maybe you should go out and have a look at what is being barked at. It can not hurt after all, and it is your home that this old dog is barking to protect.
So remember every good intention often leads down a perverted and an enslaving path. Freedom is for you, it is yours to do with as you see fit, so long as you do not harm others by act. Perhaps the ballot form should have a "None of the above" option, after all they do MAKE us vote.

2010

Kym Robinson