The Lion and the Child

Like so many around the world, I was heartbroken to learn of the murder of Cecil the Lion. A beautiful, majestic animal, taken by an evil man who gains pleasure from (and pays thousands of dollars for the so called privilege of) killing animals.

The protests were overwhelming. This story was front-page news around the world. If there has been one positive outcome, however, it is the announcement that Zimbabwe is to ban the hunting of lions, elephants and leopards. Let's pray this turns out to be correct.

The global grief over the death of Cecil, also highlighted the indifference there is to the deaths and suffering of children. I was reminded of that yesterday, when someone reposted this photo on Facebook.

When this photo first appeared a couple of years back, people were shocked. However, the global outrage over this poor child was nowhere near the level of outrage that we witnessed over Cecil. To my shame, I'm not blameless either and I'm thankful for the reminder. Lions are very important, but the welfare of our children is more important. I'll try my hardest to do better.

The Cloud

By : Percy Bysshe Shelley

   I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
         From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
         In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
         The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
         As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
         And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
         And laugh as I pass in thunder.

   I sift the snow on the mountains below,
         And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
         While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
         Lightning my pilot sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
         It struggles and howls at fits;
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
         This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
         In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
         Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,
         The Spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
         Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

   The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
         And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,
         When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag,
         Which an earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
         In the light of its golden wings.
And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
         Its ardours of rest and of love,
And the crimson pall of eve may fall
         From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aëry nest,
         As still as a brooding dove.

   That orbèd maiden with white fire laden,
         Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
         By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
         Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
         The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
         Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
         Till calm the rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
         Are each paved with the moon and these.

   I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,
         And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;
The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim,
         When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl.
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
         Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof,
         The mountains its columns be.
The triumphal arch through which I march
         With hurricane, fire, and snow,
When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,
         Is the million-coloured bow;
The sphere-fire above its soft colours wove,
         While the moist Earth was laughing below.

   I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
         And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
         I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
         The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
         Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
         And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
         I arise and unbuild it again.

(Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792–1822)

We Have To Stop Labelling People Racist

"Racism motivates some Goodes booing:" Tim Wilson..

We are all racist in some form if we were honest. There are simply some individuals or groups of people we don’t like. However, most people keep it to themselves & they don't attack others; verbally or physically.

That is, until those they have an issue with 'shove their OWN racism back into the silent majorities face as Goodes has. Then they erupt. In this case and they boo Goodes. Big deal, if they beat him up that would be a different thing all together. But they BOO. It's called being human and we have to stop vilifying people for being human and look at the root cause of why people behave the way they do.

The more people in the media and sport attack the fans and label them racist,  the more people will turn on him. Many have not forgiven Goodes for his treatment of a child. Personally, I lost all respect for him after that. Many have not forgiven him for his comment  'remember whose land this is' when he was made Australian of the Year. That comment made me bristle. When he said that, he immediately signalled his views of the white majority in this country. He exposed his own racism. He also highlighted his own hypocrisy given he is mixed race. His stupid war dance was deliberately provocative. Of course people would react. But rather than reflect that perhaps he was ill advised to do it, he whined and once again called racism. In Goodes case, he just keeps 'picking at the sore'. People are simply fed up.

Thomas Sowell said. “The word 'racism' is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything - and demanding evidence makes you a 'racist.'” Exactly right.

Where is the evidence that those booing Goodes are racist? No one has produced any they simply use the word to vilify, discredit and bully others. There are more important things to be focused on than this. Real racism for instance.

In closing, I think it is incredibly sad that a great player, will be remembered not for his contribution to sport, but his deliberate attempts to divide a nation. Perhaps this is his intent, who knows.

@patnjak “Racism is a word that is so badly used that when real racism is about you won't recognise it which is a great shame for all” Brilliantly said.

What Message Are We Sending to Our Impressionable Youth?

The threat of ISIS and their ability to attract the young is of grave concern to many, me included. Others just write it off as the Muslim call to arms which is a tad naive.  Naïve for two reasons; firstly, many who rally to the call are converts and two, most have little understanding of the deeper ISIS agenda which is in conflict with most Muslims desire to live in harmony.

Musing over the issue, following a number of recent articles I have read and comments I have read it got me thinking about the confusion many must struggle with. We often talk about the decline in behavioural standards. Of parent’s inability to control their children and of the mix messages children receive from what has become an ever increasing left learning education system.

In the case of Muslim youth where strict disciplines apply in the home, kids hear a very different message on the street, on social media, often in schools and from their friends. The global push to brand every Muslim a terrorist and terrorist in waiting certainly doesn’t help. No wonder some turn elsewhere for so called solace and acceptance. There, waiting in the shadows is ISIS.

ISIS is extremely skilled when it comes to propaganda. They know exactly how to reel these kids in. We can deny it all we like, but society in general has helped create the environment where groups like ISIS can continue to recruit these kids. This isn’t new. We have had groups before who were equally skilled. The difference now is the scale and the global impact. Examples such as The “Children of God” are no more than a sex perversion group but they do attract people. We’ve had the “Japanese Extreme Truth” they are largely religious terrorists but their impact whilst brutal is geographically restricted. The Moonie’s (Unification Church) as an example didn’t recruit kids and then teach them how to strap on a bomb and blow themselves and anyone close by to bits, ISIS does.

I read a story last night about a Germany ISIS recruit who managed to escape the clutches of ISIS and return to Germany where he is now facing trial. He commented that he was so disenfranchised he would have joined any group who accepted him. In his case, the first just happened to be ISIS. Of course when he got to Syria he discovered he had two options; learn how to fight or learn how to be a suicide bomber. In his words that really meant “death or death”. He mentioned he was offered four wives and stated who wouldn’t want four women. His closing comment was life in jail in Germany was preferable to the horror he witnessed in Syria at the hands of ISIS. He was sold a dream and received a nightmare.

Sarah Khan from the outstanding Inspire Group in the UK spoke eloquently on the topic recently when highlighting some of the propaganda that is spread. She mentioned the picture painted is that the west is at war with Islam but equally Islam is at war with the west and Muslims have no choice but to pick a side. Hard to resist when you feel you have no option because no one else wants you. I have attached the article at the bottom. I encourage people to read it and to get behind groups like Inspire who are taking the challenge of extremism head on.  

There was a time, not so long again where the messages kids received in the home, at school and from people in authority were largely the same. Certainly I received very complimentary messages from others areas. Work hard, respect others (treat others as you would have them treat you), respect your parents and obey them and the law. In other words, live by the values we were taught in line with the 10 commandments as an example. Most religions have a similar set of values. But of course now, the narrative in many instances is very different as Sarah highlights.

In the past kids didn’t have access to the Internet so the life education they received came from parents, relatives, teachers, group leaders who as I’ve stated “all sang from the same hymn book”.  

As an example, religious study has been largely removed from schools. We have also, at the same time witnessed a dramatic decline in Christian followers which probably has a lot to do with the school decision. The exception to this being faith schools. Children are taught they don’t have to obey their parents, that they have rights. Some kids have even sued their parents and won. Kids show little respect for authority. You only have to sight the behaviour of some youths at protests to see that. Jump onto Facebook or Twitter and read some of the comments. The parents sadly in many instances are no better.  When I read what some parents say on social media, I wouldn’t trust them to raise a dog let alone kids. Even worse, for many kids, life education comes from the internet.  A scary thought indeed.

So everywhere you turn there is mixed messages.

We can endeavour to do something about it if we have the will. This is where Leadership plays an important role and each of us can play a part in this. We can be consistent with our message and challenge those messages that create confusion. We can support Muslim and other organisations who are actively involved in fighting extremism and who are creating the ‘right narratives’.  We can stop blaming everyone else and take responsibility ourselves because like it or not we have helped create the environment we are now faced with changing.  It’s down to each and every one of us.

Will Inspire - Sarah Khan

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Shorten Sucks Up To The Left

Without The Greens vote, Labor hasn't the remotest chance of winning the next election. Bill Shorten knows that. With his personal electoral stocks plummeting, he will go all out to curry favour with The Greens and the Labor left. Hence we will be regaled with more idiotic plans such as his announcement of a 50% renewable target. We simply don't have the money to keep funding (to the tune of billions of dollars annually) get rich quick (off the tax payers) back eyesore wind farm projects. Projects that deliver almost zero benefit but push up the cost of power to cash strapped Australians.

Let's face it, if the polls are correct, he may also pick up some of the left conservative side who has been sucked into the global warming so called 'dirty energy' myth.

It will be interesting to see the reaction following his announcement. One thing we can be sure of is left leaning media and importantly the ABC will be fawning over this. Prepare yourself.

We must also remember. The unions already own 50% of Shorten. He is indebted to them. Now The Greens and the left are claiming their share of his and Labor's 'political flesh'. I'll leave you with one thought. Gillard was in exactly the same position and look how that panned out.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bill-shorten-to-unveil-50-renewable-energy-target-at-labor-conference-20150721-gih4bp.html