In a world awash
with money, fame and fortune, it isn’t surprising that
politicians have been recruited to ensure that the oceans of
cash are kept flowing ever upwards.
A few weeks ago
the Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, became a star. The vehicle
that propelled him into the world of stardom was a multi million
dollar advertising campaign designed with one thing in mind; to
convince a certain set within the ruling classes that his
government was on their side.
Just a couple of
weeks ago Tasmania’s Premier, Paul Lennon, also became a star.
Again, the vehicle that propelled him into the world of
celebrity was a tax payer funded advertising campaign. This too
was aimed at a certain section of the ruling class in Tasmania
and was designed to demonstrate to them how much on side
Lennon’s government is.
In both these
cases, we are paying for what amounts to corporate propaganda.
As Danny DeVito’s character, “Larry the Liquidator” said in the
movie, “Other People’s Money”, its all “other people’s money”.
In the case of the celebrity politicians spruiking for their
real bosses, this “other people’s money” is really our money.
Money that could have been used to protect our environment
rather than degrading and destroying it.
In the case of
the Gunns’ pulp mil,l that the Lennon government has literally
bent over backwards to facilitate, any real process of
assessment of the suitability of the project was abandoned when
Gunns decided to pull out of the assessment process. Rather than
support any form of just, fair and transparent process, the
Lennon government supported Gunns and in effect, turned its back
on the people of Tasmania. In short, the Lennon government, and
I would argue the Bracks’ government, are not ruling for us.
They are ruling for those who pay them to pipe.
While the Howard
government has been accused openly and often as being one of the
most environmentally retrograde governments we have had, I don’t
see too many mainstream commentators coming out and slamming
Bracks and Lennon. This task is left up to the committed few who
our mainstream media allows to be dismissed as the ‘lunatic’
fringe.
Rather than
portraying those who are attempting to get some truth and
clarity in the matters of Lennon and Bracks as mainstream,
informed and passionate, the mainstream media deliberately
allows individuals and organisations who raise concerns about
the way our governments are selling off our collective wealth to
be spoken over and marginalised.
While the Gunns
pulp mill plan is being fought over in the courts, who is
calling to account the elected governments? Certainly not the
most powerful union in Tasmania, the CFMEU. The leaders of this
union, in my home state, are up to their armpits in the trough
with Lennon and his mates. As the Lennon government turns its
back on the destruction of native old growth forests, the CFMEU
leadership does nothing to reign in its members who must be
taking part in illegal logging activities.
So, rather than
lead for the people, our government and our union
representatives allow themselves to be bought by the highest
bidder and deployed in the service of capital. Rather than serve
the people, these politicians and union leaders would rather
serve those whose interests are not with the people but with
their own self importance and power.
These
politicians have sold out and reinforce the hyper reality that
is perpetrated by a narrowly focused media and public discourse.
In this world of hyper reality, our so called “political
leaders” assist in the creation of a non existent ‘now’. A ‘now’
that is neither real nor possible because the ‘now’ is
predicated on a future that is not sustainable, reasonable, just
or fair. The ‘now’ being portrayed is one in which a helicopter
travelling Steve Bracks tells us to blindly accept his version
of the truth. In Tasmania Lennon appears smiling and telling
Tasmanians how much of a ‘to good to be true’ opportunity the
Gunns mill is.
The ‘now’ these
politicians have entered into is a fantasy created to stroke
their egos as they are deployed by the faceless bureaucrats and
money men whose own fantasies do not include the majority. These
images of the ‘now’ in turn create a simulacra in which any
pretence of reality is replaced by a single message. That
message is, “Trust us. We know what is best for you”.
This attitude is
not new. It has been the attitude of most of the ruling classes
down through the millennia. We, the ‘great unwashed’ cannot be
trusted to help shape our own destinies. This must be undertaken
by those who are ‘qualified’, ‘authorised’ and ‘prominent’. Very
rarely do the real rulers of the world step out into the lime
light. They would rather use others to ‘sell’ their aims. Again,
as “Larry the Liquidator” said, “You wanna make money!” and the
only way to do that in the modern economy is to skim off the
top. The trick is to set up the conditions under which this
skimming can take place while we are supposed to say “Wow! This
is even better than before”. That is the way it’s supposed to
play out.
However, the old
style ‘behind closed doors’ deals are not too secure any longer.
To many vested interests are ready to stab you in the back. So
rather than stay in quiet, far removed places, the politicians
are being pushed into the limelight to become the celebrities in
the simulacra that has replaced ‘rule by the people for the
people’ in a representative democracy. In this simulacra the
high flying, super smooth helicoptered and the sweet talking
politician have replaced real debate and discussion.
Perhaps though,
all is not lost. Many are seeing through the thin veneer of
political celebrity. Many are not buying into the hyper reality
that is being portrayed. Nor are they buying into the fallacy
that is the simulacra. Rather, as Paul Lennon’s popularity
ratings show, being seen to be to close to the ruling class can
damage your rising star long before it has reached its zenith.
While it is easy
to want to give in, to find a nice rock and hide under it, be
assured, you are not alone. Look around and you will see,
floating not to far away on the rising tide of discontent and
anger, others who share the same concerns, hopes and aspirations
as you.
In a world awash
with money, fame and fortune, it isn’t surprising that
politicians have been recruited to ensure that the oceans of
cash are kept flowing ever upwards. The only real question we
have to ask is, “when are our feet going to touch the sand as
the ocean is sucked dry for the satisfaction of the few?”
Perhaps the best response is, that when our feet hit the sand,
we will be able to walk ashore and build a better world than the
one currently being offered.