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  • Distrustful nation.

    Seems the trust in Australian politics, business and media are at an all time low!

    Distrustful nation: Australians lose faith in politics, media and business

    Why am I not surprised, all of the groups named are engaged in wholesale deception, and it's all to do with the pursuit of the dollar.

    What does surprise me is that 37% of people surveyed still trust the government and 32% are gullible enough to trust the media.

    There has to be a better way
    Last edited by Yelta; 22 January 2017, 03:47 PM.

  • #2
    I never pay much attention to these studies, even if they are accurate within their parameters. Their findings are never revelatory, and their scope of investigation is usually shallow.

    Why am I not surprised, all of the groups named are engaged in wholesale deception, and it's all to do with the pursuit of the dollar.
    I don't mean to sound glib and cynical, but of course it's all to do with the dollar. It always has been, and it always will be.

    There has to be a better way
    What do you suggest? I'd like to think there's a better way, but at least we get to live in a free-market economy. I'd hate to think of the alternative (socialism, anybody?).

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    • #3
      Yeah, no surprise whatsoever...

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      • #4
        To be honest (and all due respect to other people's opinions), I think that Australia has it pretty good compared to some regimes that other countries are enduring at the moment.

        It's terrific that you give a shit, Jon; it really is. I suppose I just never understood why/how people could/would place so much of their trust and happiness in politicians/businesses/the media/somebody else's pocket to begin with.

        Then again, I'm not the sort of person who ever believed he'd be content with (or working within) the system in the first place. We all need it to an extent (and often to a large extent), but it will only get you so far. And that's because a system, by its very nature and design, cannot possibly hope to please everybody - and especially not all at once.

        Getting rid of self-interest and wholesale deception means getting rid of human nature. Which is never going to happen, and I don't see the point of even looking at these things as a shame, especially when changing them requires removing layers of complications and intricacies that have been allowed to build up over many, many years.

        The things that seriously appall and horrify me are smaller-scale-but-exponentially-more-devastating ie. the recent Bourke Street rampage. Now I'm used to hearing bad news, but reading that story almost entirely ruined my Sunday, so lucky I only picked up the paper at the tail end of some great family birthday celebrations! I had to leave the newsagency otherwise I would have started crying. I cannot conceive of the fact that a three-month old baby died.

        What an absolutely disgusting, reckless tragedy. I'm not even confident we can begin to prevent those incidents from happening. Maybe, but a lot more people will have to die before any effective change takes place.

        I remain hopeful but unconvinced.
        Last edited by BalthazarG; 23 January 2017, 11:04 AM.

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        • #5
          Agree with you BalthazarG on the Bourke Street tragedy.

          That barsteward needs a good flogging (or a bad flogging). Whatever hurts the most.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by LFM60 View Post
            Agree with you BalthazarG on the Bourke Street tragedy.

            That barsteward needs a good flogging (or a bad flogging). Whatever hurts the most.
            ....and then some! Kill yourself if you must, but don't, for the love of God, touch a mother's little baby. That just crosses the line in the worst way possible, and turns me inside out. Anyway, enough about that.

            As Smee would say: "Time for another brew!"

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            • #7
              Yep, time for a brew.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by BalthazarG View Post
                To be honest (and all due respect to other people's opinions), I think that Australia has it pretty good compared to some regimes that other countries are enduring at the moment.

                <snip>

                I cannot conceive of the fact that a three-month old baby died.
                Yes, it's all about perspective. Without discounting the tragedy of the Bourke St rampage, there are children all over the world who are subject to greater risk of death every day.

                What does surprise me is that 37% of people surveyed still trust the government and 32% are gullible enough to trust the media. There has to be a better way
                We owe it to ourselves to become as well-informed as possible. Don't believe all you are told, even if it fits in with your perspective on things. Find out what others are saying about something. Question all views, including your own.

                In today's world, there is always the risk we become complete cynics or nihilists. It is worthwhile to try to remain positive only because your are more likely to find a solution or way of coping.

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                • #9
                  I probably have the opposite 'perspective' to Balthazar.
                  The Bourke St. event, however tragic and wrong, is to me expected within the conceptual framework of a society comprised of many people who are mentally ill, religious fanatics, criminally insane etc.
                  It still shocks me, but I expect it.
                  I will never come to terms with a society that is, at it's core, driven by corruption.
                  Self-interest is the primary human drive of course, but socialisation attempts to channel it in the direction of socially-acceptable behaviour.
                  I'm an "idealist" I suppose and I think we are in trouble as a society when we start accepting corruption as just the norm. I think we always need to strive towards a 'higher standard' for ourselves and others and people in positions of trust who abuse that trust should be punished with the full force of the law.

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