Tiffanny Junee

On 3 November 2020 some Americans will vote.

They will elect either a white man, or a white man.

The repercussions for the western democratic world remain to be seen, but either way it will be an election of one of the same – no matter what they spew forth as campaign messages.

The result will be reflective of what western democracy has become.

A relatively obvious choice between the educated, privileged, middle class white male – or put simply, one of two obviously entitled.

In Australia, it’s no different, only mildly less offensive.

So what is it about our western democracy that we would fight to preserve…?

What is it about Australia that we love so much…?

Our Constitution…?

Our Government, Corporate structures, Administration or Judicature…?

Our personal rights and freedoms: Right to protest, Freedom of Speech, Right to Privacy…?

I can only help think it a hard sell to the paramedic getting bashed by the drunk whose life they are trying to save.

Or the injured university security guard who sports a broken arm from turning up to work to protect the institution that devalues the inputs of its casual staff to the point where they are compelled to protest on-site during a pandemic; in the hope of exposing the University’s habitual breeches of Federal and State workplace law.

Or the parents burying their teenager who saw a ‘solution’ in a noose rather than the support of peers and available adults, in a bid to silence the hateful words and taunts of abuse from his peers.

Australia was federated on a sense of entitlement that led to the suppression of men, women and children – black and white.

In Australia, basic human rights and freedoms are espoused but rarely truly protected – even if legislated – due to an abject failure of the officials responsible, to police them above institutionalised self-interest.

And that’s not even considering a lack of resources and trained personnel to properly and purposefully police, regulate and enforce laws .

No wonder the majority of Australian’s are too busy to fight for a better version of what was previously considered ‘The Lucky Country’.

So I guess the question isn’t can we do something about it, but rather will we…?

The idea of mobilising a largely self-absorbed middle-aged, middle-class Australia born out of the conservatism of the 80’s, deems the suggestion not socially something that is our best interests to do so…

But it’s not fair of us to leave it to our kids to clean up the mess we’ve been making for decades now.

We have to #BeDoLoveBetter and maybe then, we might reach a baseline that will propel our ‘modern’ society to actually be a sustainable one.