Idealism seems out of fashion in today’s world. In countries everywhere there is war, fear and the grabbing pressures of capitalism out of control. We are probably more frightened and tense today than we have ever been in history. Particularly if you consider how much of our fear is based on “maybes”. Things that may happen. We may have a terrorist attack. Our Islamic citizens may turn on us. If we don’t have a deregulated workplace, we may be more open to economic recession. It’s all fear. Paralysing, unproductive fear. Where is the hope in this kind of thinking?

Here in Australia we are counting down to an election. It hasn’t been called yet, but everyone knows it’s coming, and most likely by the end of the year. I’m going to be open and say that I want the Australian Labor Party to win this election. In fact, I am desperate for labor to win this election.

Our current Prime Minister, the un -honorable John Howard has had 10 years to leave his mark on our country and I fear that it will take at least another 10 years to undo the damage he has wrought. From his anti-Republican agenda which confused the population into vetoing a referendum which would give us an Australian Head of State (a radical suggestion I know…) to his demonising of desperate refugees and subsequent locking them up for years on end, roasting away in scorching desert ovens… I mean prisons. Outright lies about Iraq, even after looking the other way while The Australian Wheat Board bribed the murderous Saddam Hussein for his business. This government has been at an all time moral low for some time. Somehow John Howard has managed to slide through three elections, but I’m praying this will be his last.

More than my dislike of John Howard, I want a new government because I want to have HOPE again. I want to believe that someone is going to rule our country with an agenda for change. An agenda that comes from their belief in what Australia needs. To be honest, I think most leaders would be jaded after 10 years in power. It’s too long. No one should stay in government that long. Australian people take note. No human being will give you his best for 10 years, and that is what we deserve in government. The best.

So, I’m putting my vote behind Kevin Rudd, and hoping that a poor Qld farm boy who talks of equality, a greener future, more funding for education and the traditional Australian ideal of a “fair go” actually believes it and will make us believe it again.

I say be idealistic. Have a picture in your head of the country you want to live in. Be passionate about our children deserving a better future, a secure future. Don’t listen to people who tell you all politicans are the same. They are not. Because people are not the same. Let us demand a leader for our nation, not a media savvy politician who has proven time and time again that he does not care what is best for us, he only cares what is best for the corporations that donate to him.

Have you heard that song by PINK, Dear Mr President? It is the most heartfelt acoustic song I have heard in years. That is a woman who believes, who is not ashamed to be idealistic. We can have jobs and still take care of our less fortunate citizens. We can help others while still helping ourself. Good economic management and ethics and integrity are not mutually exclusive. Make sure you tell John Howard that at the next election.

photo by spike55151

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“Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.”

- Arianna Hufflington, Author
On Becoming Fearless…In Love, Work, and Life

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I found this video on YOUTUBE, where a young guy named Will Albino walks through the Padua Academy in the USA asking the female students there to sign a petition to end women’s suffrage. As you might guess from the title of my post, scores of young women not only sign the petition, but show they have absolutely no idea what it is, with one student saying “women’s suffrage is really bad”.Now, we must allow for selective editing here. Maybe just as many women didn’t sign, but were not included because let’s face it, a 50/50 split wouldn’t make a point would it? However, it does make me question what basics our kids are not taught in school today. Have English and History gone out of fashion? And in a country like the USA, where voting is voluntary and only 54% of eligible voters cast their ballots in any particular election, I have to wonder if these women would still sign the petition even knowing what it was. Maybe Paris Hilton should do an advertisement encouraging people to vote, then young women might actually know what suffrage is. In Australia, I can’t say the situation is much better. While we have compulsory voting for all eligible citizens, nothing can make apathetic people (anyone under 30?) care enough to give their vote the consideration and thought it deserves. As for our education system, again I would say our young people are faring badly. If any of the Big Brother contestants this year are representative of their Generation Y peers, teenagers can’t spell and reading went out of fashion with the yo-yo. Then again, when you’re 18 years old and wear t-shirts with Porn Star emblazoned across your tits, while singing “Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me”, maybe you never see a reason why you would need an education, or even that pesky right to vote.

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Well, in my case I am going on a holiday, sans husband and son. And I’m escaping an Australian winter (yes, we do get winter if you’re reading this from the other side of the world and think Australia is hot and tropical all year round).

Holidays are wonderful, aren’t they? I never feel more ALIVE than when I’m escaping the humdrum of everyday existence and throwing myself into an alien situation. For me, a holiday is never as good unless I leave the country. My last holiday was with my husband in Byron Bay, and while Byron is one of god’s great treasures, for me the familiarity of my own culture and language means the thrill is somewhat diminished.

If you are one of those people who are envying me right now and thinking you can’t afford a holiday, or can’t get time off work, well you probably need a holiday more than anyone! Holidays invigorate the soul. They change our body chemistry, introduce us to new people, new places and really connect us with the world. A holiday is the best kind of recharge you can give yourself. It invigorates you and allows space for thought and reflection - something you may actually be avoiding if work and everyday life is weighing you down. I’m not saying a holiday is a quick fix for any problem, but I’ve always found it leaves me changed and more sure of who I am, where I’m going and what’s working, or not, in my life.

Don’t be proud of being busy. Long hours at the office and an endless merry-go-round of chores and errands do not make a life. Know when to take time out and focus on yourself. It’s a skill that’s fast disappearing these days.

See you when I get back. Thailand here I come!

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