Political Times

In Australia we are having something of a political scandal (boringly titled "ute-gate") about whether the Prime Minister called for special treatment for a businessman friend of his. The blustering has got to the point that there are now cries for the resignation of the Prime Minister and Treasurer or the Opposition Leader. Ho hum!

In Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi spends more time in prison. In Iran, the demonstrators are still on the streets despite the very real risk to their lives. We haven't heard from Tibet in the headlines lately but I don't that as a sign that all is well. And lets not forget the atrocities that are continuing in Palestine, North Korea and Zimbabwe.

It makes me so mad that we (the Australians who are interested enough to follow this story) are getting so fluffed up by something so ridiculous when there are REAL problems in the world.

And then I think that maybe this is what democracy is all about - the fight against corruption (real or perceived), the ability to try and bring down a government without a revolution, the ability to have ongoing debates about the merits of the Prime Minister's culpability (if any) in the newspapers, the ability for the population to know that any of this is happening in the first place, the ability of myself to write this post.

It has got me thinking ....

Photo: "Democracy" by jaderrrxO