Should we change our focus?

[Julia]

The election campaign and its outcome has given us all a good opportunity to vent about all that we dislike about our politicians and, to a lesser degree, our society.

I'm not sure this thread will generate much interest, but I'm wondering if it's time to shift our focus to all that functions well in our part of the world and the benefits we enjoy. I think I have started to think about this a little more as a result of being rightly pulled up on my assumption in another thread that if Saudi women didn't like how their society treated them, then they could just leave. Thanks to those who have corrected my naive assumption.

But it has made me think about all the freedoms we enjoy here in Australia.
Our laws allow us to do pretty much as we please as long as we don't infringe on the rights of others.

When we went to vote last Saturday, I realised how efficiently the AEC handle the voting process. It must involve huge organisation. We know that the results will be delivered to us at the end of the voting day, no small feat.

In the street where I live there is an elderly couple who do not drive.
They can access a personal transport service which takes them wherever they need to go for a nominal cost. This is government funded.
There is also a free Council operated bus which picks up from and delivers to any home address and goes to all the major shopping centres.

Despite our (justified) criticism of our health system, amongst the poor service delivery and dodgy explanations by governments, there are thousands of people receiving good treatment every day. Just a few minutes ago I heard a news report of two people being airlifted to a major hospital following a car accident. This seems to happen most days.

There are problems in our schools. And HECS fees are far too high.
But education is available to everyone and considerable effort made to accommodate and help those with learning difficulties.

These are just a few examples. I'm hoping others can come up with more.
Just an attempt to try to see the glass as half full rather than half empty.

 

[chewy]

Yeah there is no doubt Australia is the lucky country. Plenty of things we could make better but in the scheme of things we are doing pretty dam well. Especially down here in cruisey Hobart

 

[gordon2007]

Excellant post Julie.

I think too few people realise and or take for granted what we have. We've just been made the 3rd best country to live in yet barely a word was said about it.

Nearly everyone has access to 3 meals a day plus snacks. We feel pretty safe in our homes. We spend millions on car races, vacations, and entertainment.

Try eating a very light meal one evening. Then skip breakfast and lunch. Come dinner time you will be so hungry you will feel sick. Now Imagine feeling that day after day.

I know people see the advertisements on television. Until you experience it and see it first hand, it is truely hard to realise what true poverty is.

We have so much to be thankful for yet so few I think really can truely understand and appreciate it.

The election campaign and its outcome has given us all a good opportunity to vent about all that we dislike about our politicians and, to a lesser degree, our society.

I'm not sure this thread will generate much interest, but I'm wondering if it's time to shift our focus to all that functions well in our part of the world and the benefits we enjoy. I think I have started to think about this a little more as a result of being rightly pulled up on my assumption in another thread that if Saudi women didn't like how their society treated them, then they could just leave. Thanks to those who have corrected my naive assumption.

But it has made me think about all the freedoms we enjoy here in Australia.
Our laws allow us to do pretty much as we please as long as we don't infringe on the rights of others.

When we went to vote last Saturday, I realised how efficiently the AEC handle the voting process. It must involve huge organisation. We know that the results will be delivered to us at the end of the voting day, no small feat.

In the street where I live there is an elderly couple who do not drive.
They can access a personal transport service which takes them wherever they need to go for a nominal cost. This is government funded.
There is also a free Council operated bus which picks up from and delivers to any home address and goes to all the major shopping centres.

Despite our (justified) criticism of our health system, amongst the poor service delivery and dodgy explanations by governments, there are thousands of people receiving good treatment every day. Just a few minutes ago I heard a news report of two people being airlifted to a major hospital following a car accident. This seems to happen most days.

There are problems in our schools. And HECS fees are far too high.
But education is available to everyone and considerable effort made to accommodate and help those with learning difficulties.

These are just a few examples. I'm hoping others can come up with more.
Just an attempt to try to see the glass as half full rather than half empty.

 

[prawn_86]

As a young person, to have access to:

good education (even if it does cost in the long run)
scholarships
be able to save and invest for my future
a job
enjoy life
good food and friends
travel interstate and overseas a few times a year

there really isnt much i can complain about ultimately.

 

[roland]

How about our Police? They do an incredible job, the amount of crap they have to put up with, relatively low wages and extreme scrutinisation amazes me how this organisation continues to excel.

Having travelled a lot overseas, I have seen so many places where the Police are to be feared and/or not trusted.

Not to mention that our Forensics are world class.

For me, at least, I feel comforted when I see them out and about - pity there isn't more of them.

 

[MS+Tradesim]

http://www.poverty.com/

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm

http://www.fixingtheplanet.com/one-weeks-worth-food-around-our-planet



We live in fantastic country and have both the opportunity and privilege to make decisions that affect our life and others.

 

[Agentm]

i saw a lady with a twin stroller trying to push her twins up the footpath last night, she looked totally wasted, totally off the planet..

on two occassions the stroller nearly went fully off the footpath into peak hour traffic. she needed the stroller to stay upright, she was basically half undressed and i felt sickened to see those babies in the care of a person struggling to remain conscious, eyes rolling everywhere, staggering..

I didnt have my mobile on me, so i drove home, a minute away and rang the police, they had 3 calls already for that incident, and they knew the lady, no she wasnt drunk, she was on some substances..

half full or half empty?

i felt the sadness for the unfortunate situation i could do nothing to change. mental health, substance abuse, very chilling to see..

i felt relief i could ask the police to assist her and the welfare of the twin babies.

we are indeed fortunate the welfare of theose kids can be immediately taken into consideration..

 

[explod]

I take exception to the notion that Saudi women could just leave. Children for example cling to their parents because they are afraid of the outside so to speak. The confident people in our society are the well educated. As a Catholic youngster I remember well the fear instilled in us from religious dogma, our education lacked the components that promote individual thinking. In the middle ages those who thought differently, in particular women were burned at the stake.

There are some saudi women who have been well educated and maintain the status quo for their own politivcal advantage but in most cases the lack of a full and open education makes them dependant on their society and respective husbands. And their are also educated saudi women who tell a very differrent story.

Do not be deterred Julia, we must continue the fight for enlightenment. And I like your thread.

 

[robert toms]

Some people would have seen the Melbourne Catholic priest saying that the prevalent disease that we in Australia suffer from is affluenza...here here brother! When too much will never be enough!
When I lived in NSW I believed that they should have changed their number plate logo from the first state to "state of complaint"...it never stopped...or maybe that was media inspired...but complaints took root very quickly,especially it seemed,amongst those that were remote from the causes and the action.
Although there may be isolated cases of neglect,Australia's health system and health insurance system is first class...hard to beat anywhere.
Are the best things in life free?
Well relatively so .

 

[Happy]

I would like to say something half full too, but in my opinion life was better in Australia, slowly changing for worse.
Before, it was common to leave car open, not to mention the house.

Now you get fined for leaving car unlocked.

Could we be able to get few lost things back?
The way society is going probably not.

 

[chops_a_must]

I enjoy the fact that I can go to my University library, or any of the others, and know the books aren't censored, nor my choices scrutinised. I couldn't live without books, like I would have to go without in some countries.

 

[Julia]

Well, I'm really heartened by the contributions. Thanks, folks.
Just thought of another aspect of the health system as I was driving home from the Radiology Lab today. We have some pain/discomfort. Go to the GP. He produces a computer generated request for various investigations.
Biochemistry, X-Rays, CT Scans. Get an appointment the next day for the latter two and the first is done on the spot. No waiting. Just sign the Medicare form. About $1000 worth of investigations all up and no charge to the patient.

AgentM. Good on you for contacting the police about the young mother.
If enough people do this then hopefully before too long the children will be protected. The upside is that resources do exist to care for the children (even if it often seems to take too long), and similarly if the young mother decides to pull her life together there is a great deal of help there for her,
both government and privately generated.

What do you think about neighbourliness? Do most of us know our neighbours to talk to? Could we call on them in the case of an emergency?
Are we happy to water their gardens, collect their mail etc when they are away?

By and large we have an excellent postal service. Australia Post even organises every Christmas for children to write to Santa, providing an address at the North Pole etc. Not sure if they receive a reply!

We know our rubbish will be removed every week. We know the water will come out of our taps and the lights will come on when we turn the switch (well, barring storms and accidents). Such pedestrian, ordinary things, but how difficult it would be without these services.

Anyone else?

 

[IFocus]

Went for a skin checkup the other day (35 years of surfing) at the local Mandurah Clinic. Bulk billed, no cost, ten minutes later I was on my way what a great country.....

BTW 25% of the Melanomas found in WA come out of the same clinic in Mandurah if you don't you should about the only non invasive test you can have at my age these days and its free.......

Focus

 

[2020hindsight]

Yep, "We don't know how lucky we are, Fred"

or as Fred Dagg (John Clarke) used to say as he was milking his cows
"We don't know how propitious are our circumstances, Frederick"

 

[Duckman#72]

i saw a lady with a twin stroller trying to push her twins up the footpath last night, she looked totally wasted, totally off the planet..

on two occassions the stroller nearly went fully off the footpath into peak hour traffic. she needed the stroller to stay upright, she was basically half undressed and i felt sickened to see those babies in the care of a person struggling to remain conscious, eyes rolling everywhere, staggering..

I didnt have my mobile on me, so i drove home, a minute away and rang the police, they had 3 calls already for that incident, and they knew the lady, no she wasnt drunk, she was on some substances..

Nice thread Julia ......and I know we are looking for positives but that was one of the saddest visuals I've had for a long time.

Anyway - back to positives.

We know our neighbours and Mrs Duckman gives all the houses around us a small shortbread "Christmas present" each year. We are moving across town in a couple of weeks and neighbours to the south (who moved in themselves only a month ago) have told us they could help us shift if needed. Lovely people........or maybe they can't stand Duckman.

Tomorrow I'll get up at 5:00am and play golf. Come home and pick up the home delivered Weekend Australian and then take it along with the rest of the Duckman clan down the street to a coffee shop for brunch. I might pop into work for a couple of hours and then come home have a swim and play a game of cricket with the Ducklings. Once it's evening - throw a DVD on and have a "Movie Night" with them or give them a game of "Guess Who".

There is plenty to be thankful for.

Duckman

 

[kitehigh]

Nice Thread Julia.

I agree that Australia and most Australians have it bloody good compared to some parts of the world that I have been to. We have alot to be grateful for.
And I suppose alot of that comes down to our forefather, who put in place good institutions and set the frame work for our current political climate. We are also lucky that this country has an abundance of resources that has provided great economic prosperity for the country.

Things I would like to see more of:
More community spirit in the bigger cities, like the country folk have.
Less American consummerism influence in our society.
Move away from a reliance on crude oil.
More value adding of our resources.
More money spent on education, science and research.
The complete banning of poker machines in clubs. (What a pathetic money grab from the states at the expanse of destroyed lives and families).
Better family opportunities for working mothers.

I think all young Australians should take the chance to travel to some of the less fortunate countries and they will see how good they actually have it back home. Maybe they should look at doing it sooner rather than later, with crude oil getting more and more scarce, airtravel maybe a thing of the past if we don't find any alternatives to jet fuel and the current aviation transport system.

 

[kitehigh]

I take exception to the notion that Saudi women could just leave. Children for example cling to their parents because they are afraid of the outside so to speak. The confident people in our society are the well educated. As a Catholic youngster I remember well the fear instilled in us from religious dogma, our education lacked the components that promote individual thinking. In the middle ages those who thought differently, in particular women were burned at the stake.

There are some saudi women who have been well educated and maintain the status quo for their own politivcal advantage but in most cases the lack of a full and open education makes them dependant on their society and respective husbands. And their are also educated saudi women who tell a very differrent story.

Do not be deterred Julia, we must continue the fight for enlightenment. And I like your thread.

I think you should read Julia's post again, she actually said she was pulled up on her naive assumption that saudi woman could just leave. Sometimes when you read things in a hurry you don't actually read a post correctly, I have been guilty of this in the past and most likely will happen again in the future.

 

[2020hindsight]

i saw a lady with a twin stroller trying to push her twins up the footpath last night, she looked totally wasted, totally off the planet..

on two occassions the stroller nearly went fully off the footpath into peak hour traffic. .....was on some substances..

.......indeed fortunate the welfare of theose kids can be immediately taken into consideration..

Nice thread Julia ......and I know we are looking for positives but that was one of the saddest visuals I've had for a long time

AgentM (and Duck)
Just taking the visual there and playing around with it -
a spaced-out mother with kids in stroller relying on her to navigate them safely up the street, and as likely as not (by the sound of it) she's going to push them straight into a speeding lorry - yep that's a terrifying visual all right.

Other countries are lucky not to have such access to drugs I guess.

I remember being on a bus in the Philippines, and major 4 lane freeway with cars fairly belting through the provinces - rice paddies as far as you could see everywhere... looked out the window ....

(and a similar visual but with a twist..) along the side of the highway is a little kid about 5 or 6 asleeep on a water bullalo and it's wandering along the shoulder taking him home - as reliable as a chauffeur

bit like Mongrel Grey really

 

[2020hindsight]

PS when I said "Other countries are lucky not to have such access to drugs I guess." I probably meant "too poor in the provinces to afford em" (though not in Manila probably)

- obviously I'm searching for a "half full" or even "quarter full" way to look at poverty here - in the final (semi final?) analysis you'll probably hear more laughter from kids there than in houses like that mother of twins you mentioned -

- or even in rich aussie houses half the time
the one playing with an old bike tyre and a stick to push it along - the other with the latest Nintendo or some such

but of course current poverty is also a crippling thing for many throughout Asia and Africa

 

[2020hindsight]

The election campaign and its outcome has given us all a good opportunity to vent about all that we dislike about our politicians and, to a lesser degree, our society.

I'm not sure this thread will generate much interest, but I'm wondering if it's time to shift our focus to all that functions well in our part of the world and the benefits we enjoy. ........

all the freedoms we enjoy here in Australia.

well one thing I like is the (relative) freedom of the press - and the internet for that matter - to quickly put "political" spin in its place.

Virtually immediate claim and countererclaim posted on the internet these days.
What's the point of buying a paper, it's bound to be 2 or 3 hours old at best !!

I'm quietly confident that future pollies will eventually learn that the best way is to be honest. - well one can always hope

Incidentally this freedom of information might even bring down the corruption of the Burmese Govt ,

and even make the Chinese govt a bit more honest (you'd think)