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Daily discussion thread: ๐ Sunday, April 28, 2024
(aussie.zone)
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this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2024
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Melbourne
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It's the real life version of updating your Facebook profile picture. It's about being seen to care and being part of a group. I think it also probably helps people feel like they are doing something when they feel powerless and don't know what to do, but that doesn't make it effective.
Part of the problem is that a lot of people feel disenfranchised from government, so they don't believe actions like writing to their local MP will do anything.
Combined with that we have been putting more and more power in the hands of private companies and telling people to exercise political power by choosing what products to buy and from who. So instead of being able to lobby governments to introduce stronger standards on the media's depiction of women (as an example) we have media outlets "self-regulating" and are told if we want things to change to just stop watching things we don't like.
We have a great system of government where every person gets to have some input into who makes the decisions and rules over us, and as a society we have done everything we can to negate that by taking as much power as we can away from government (which in its own flawed way is goverment by the people) and instead giving power to corporations. All supported by a pretence that "consumer power" and being able to pick which brand we buy (out of a selection that are mostly made by the same company anyway) is somehow giving individuals more power.
It's strange. The way we handle serious issues has really changed the past twenty years. Loss of tolerance, loss of compromise, loss of action.
No discussing an issue. No compromises. No solutions asked for or sought. No running for elections or interacting with politics in a real sense. Telling people what to say and think, or else.
@Seagoon_ @RustyRaven @melbourne Here's something from the early '90s that shows just how much things have changed over the past 30-odd years.
Here's a clip of the prime minister at the time, Paul Keating, debating tax policies with the opposition leader, John Hewson.
As in, going right into details. Hewson wanted to bring in a GST, Keating opposed it.
And they debated on national TV.
On A Current Affair.
As in, the TV show with all the dodgy tradies used to cover important national issues, like how the tax system should work.
https://youtu.be/KtkixGuCwaY?si=ymA-JUZ8PifDOaFG
That was the year I became old enough to vote. I grew up with that sort of debate as normal, if you read the newspapers you would have the same sorts of things. Now it's all name calling, slogans and picking a side like it's a game of football. We used to at least pretend that social issues and making the world a better place mattered, now it seems to be just about winning no matter what.