If there were only two Australians left in the country, one would turn to the other and ask for a government job. And the response would be “Don’t bother Mate, just go on the dole”.
The nanny state has been produced and it is thriving. We obviously can’t look after ourselves! We need constant guidance and rules. For everything and I’ve had enough!
What has happened to Happy Australia? Australians were a very joyous mob just a few years ago. Confidence in our future appears to have been broken and we lack the glue (and the clues) to put it together again. The signs of our deterioration are all around but is anyone reading them? Well, I am and I’ve had enough.
I’ve had enough of surly faces, bad manners and piggish behaviour and crappy standards. Why are the frustrations increasing in Australia? Have our systems become more important than the people? Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on transport systems that either don’t work or are inferior to international standards when they do. We order ships or trains from overseas countries which don’t operate correctly when installed here! We allow building materials to be imported when they should be banned as fire hazards. This country is remote and should be capable of viewing the rest of the world with an accurate and critical eye. We should be experts at selecting and implementing world’s best practice (and systems) into this country. It seems we can’t achieve this.
“Learn from the Rest and select the Best”. (That’s got a nice slogan ring to it!) Perhaps the Government will adapt it. What is it that we actually believe we do well in this country? Perhaps a more pertinent question would be “Is there anything we do well apart from being good whingers?”
Do we want to become a third world country? There is evidence we do. Well, I’ve had enough of people going barefoot in shopping centres and supermarkets. Now it’s shirtless as well. And don’t get me going about the nineteen year olds who think they run the planet and then yawn in your face like Luna Park. Half the time you can see their tonsils! It’s obviously too difficult to put a hand over your mouth. When did we stop saying “sorry” when we accidently bump into a person in the street? And can’t you acknowledge me with a quick hand wave when I allow you to ease into my line of traffic? And I’ve had enough of
over-charging tradesmen. $110 to change a tap washer? And there are so many people who can’t use a knife and fork. They sit hunched over their plate guarding it like they are jailbirds and then shovel it down with their faces almost in the plate. Pigs at the trough. Perhaps we should just blame the fast food tribes and their little boxes? It’s easier to eat when it’s in your hand.
I’ve had enough of all the clones penetrating our society. We can’t escape from them. The same language endlessly from our newsreaders, weather girls and reporters. Everything is a “journey”. Crossing the road is a journey. Even footballs “don’t make the journey” when kicked! What is happening? Do we blame technology? Are we too lazy to find a more fitting or colourful adjective? “The reality is”. What reality? Whose reality? “Moving forward” Oh good one…just try moving backwards you goose. “At the end of the day”. Phrases like these don’t mean anything but we use them anyway. And don’t start me on “absolutely”. Five years ago the word was rarely used but now we incessantly use it. I am absolutely effing finished with “absolutely”. The word is “yes”. One syllable. Yes. Si. Ja. Oui. I’ll absolutely flatten the next drongo who uses “absolutely”. And what a great word drongo is! Can’t we start using it again? Please save me from being bombarded all day with “absolutely”.
And can we attempt to define the word “Ladies”. For a long time we have had men and women. Now its men and Ladies. What do ladies look like? I don’t see a lot around these days. If a woman is dressed like a $20 hooker or if she acts and looks like a tart, is she a lady? It seems to me that ladies are fast disappearing but we’re using the word more and more frequently.
All ages are feeling this malaise. Where has all the joy gone? Are we headed for a divided nation like in the U.S. where shooting deaths numbered over 36,000 last year. That is some barometer and it won’t be long before it is over 1000 a week. We can’t be too smug. How do we endure the increasing levels of domestic violence in our happy nation? Aren’t those same levels a measure of the nations’ happiness or lack of it?
I have a small black African sculpture which sits in my bookcase. He has a severe nose and is very wise. He observes me and the surrounds constantly. He agrees that it has been a difficult year. Researchers have just released findings on nine factors that make us feel good or at least better. They are not in any particular order. 1. Be curious 2. Do
something you love 3. Think of others 4. Look after your body including your hair 5. Nurture relationships 6. Live in the moment 7. Do random acts of kindness 8.Seize the day. On top of the list and the most important was 9. Be grateful for everything.
I’m extremely happy and very grateful that you read this far. Thank you.
John A Wilson, Gold Coast, December 2017
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