Posted on 27 July 2010 by Will O' in Politics

Gillard’s not up to it; and neither are we

About Julia Gillard, that is. All these years, I thought she was a mensch, perhaps the last standing Australian politician with integrity and a backbone. But especially a politician with an all-encompassing grasp of government.

Since taking over as Prime Minister, she has shown none of these qualities. Instead she has revealed herself to be an incompetent drone. The woman who used to eat the Coalition for Question Time snacks has suddenly become a wishy-washy fool. Several weeks have gone by without any evidence of the person we all thought she was. Who’s running her? I fear she is running herself. Too many bungles have surfaced for the blame to be put elsewhere. It looks like Julia Gillard is a fake.

It has become evident that the resignation of Lindsay Tanner (and attempted resignation of John Faulkner, who is remaining on the back bench as an advisor), was prompted by a fear of Gillard’s perceived inadequacies. Indeed, the Labor Party may be about to implode.

Where does that leave Australians? With Tony Abbott and the party that locked hundreds of children behind barbed wire for years until they went mad. And they plan to start it all over again.

Australia is facing its most absurd election ever. Two politicians going for PM and not a leader in sight. People are clamoring for action on climate change, and the response from on high? Willful Dithering. Both sides are pandering to an unhinged fear over an insignificant number of boat people. What is lost here is the humanity of those who believe these people are a danger. On all issues, our humanity is being king-hit by political behavior lower than the lowest common denominator.

I keep thinking that people like Tony Abbott and Sarah Palin must be kept out of office. But maybe it no longer matters. Perhaps they will simply give us what we deserve.

December 21, 2012 is looking more and more interesting. Not because it signals the end of the world, but because millennia of willful ignorance have brought us to the breaking point. Perhaps we are at the end of an ultimately embarrassing history where all the worst aspects of human beings have been routinely exploited by a patriarchy that regards human life abstractly. Everywhere the signs are pointing to an eventual paroxysm, both from a ravaged earth and from the despair felt by almost every human being at having lived a helplessly second-rate life. You hear this phrase often these days: “We are better than this.” But, in fact, we are not. We are a failed species. As things stand, we are too broke to fix.

Yet, we do not need to perish along with our planet. We simply need to wake up. To switch on whatever it is that has lain dormant since we acquired consciousness. Maybe it’s compassion. Not just a here and there compassion, but one that doesn’t go to sleep, that can always understand what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes. I don’t have any more of it than you do. But I’ll wager it’s the answer. Or a good part of it.

In the meantime, I’m finally over politics. This is my last entry on the subject.