Ever since I've been living overseas, my Dad has been sending me snippets from the Aussie newspapers he reads. I've always been jealous of the time he has had to read his papers ! And I even have trouble finding time to read the cuttings he sends (greatly reduced these days at my request). It's a precious service he renders though because he sends me things he thinks I'll enjoy reading and which he has appreciated himself, so that brings us a little closer together inspite of the distance. It's not enough to keep me up-to-date with what's happening in Oz, but I get glimpses of current issues and trends in society.
I laughed while reading Good old ways to measure a half-century in mind, body and spirit, by James Valentine (The Weekend Australian, Sept 17-18 2011). Well, I have turned 50 and I'm noticing these things!
On a more serious note, and one which had resonance with what we observe (and probably practise ourselves - let's be honest!) in France, was an article by Bernard Salt : It's all about me: the rise and rise of individualism, (The Weekend Australian but when ??) He notes the transition in the last 30 years between the idea of hard work, reward, the notion of "going without", serving a higher cause and the Me-generations emerging from the boom-years of the '80s. Less kids, more income with 2 parents working, the influence of child psychology trends and materialism.
In this time of elections in France, I found the following comment particularly relevant (because I'm really concerned about the lack of respect for authority at all levels of society and the so-called humour of certain comics in the media who comment on current affairs.)
"Governments used to think they had a mandate to make decisions in the long-term interests of the Australian nation and people. Not so today.
The electoral process merely confers temporal authority to manage daily business.
Any big or strategic decision must, by dent of the individualist's creed, take account of the views of "amazing individuals" who have an opinion on the subject.
Perhaps this is why I think there is a paucity of strategic vision by governments today."
Lack of vision and long-term planning.
A few years ago, France changed from 7-year Presidential terms to 5-year ones. Probably thought they had good reasons to at the time, but in my opinion, it's backfired because change is very hard to achieve in this bureaucratic country - 5 years is not enough. And the President has hardly started initiating any policies before he or she has to start pandering to the electorate.
As a result, the country is more than ever in a state of perpetual motion - swinging this way and that, with no long term goals to work towards. Lobbying and public opinion (though valid to a certain extent) sway political decisions as do strikes and public discord. The population is de-stabilized and I feel our daily level of stress has increased because we have so many things to cope with linked to frequent and shallow changes.
Another issue is honesty and integrity. Who can you believe any more ? Who has the time and mental energy to have thought things through ? Which media allow us, the public, to follow a real debate and to discover people's ideas right through to their logical conclusions ? I find the media to be manipulative, although you can discern real issues and hear good interviews from time to time. Television techniques render things so trite sometimes.
We find in our church work that changes develop really slowly. Time seems to be slipping by yet there are changes to be made and long term stategies to decide upon. We are in a country church but even in city churches people tend to be conservative and looking over the changes on the Evangelical scene that we have noted (and supported) I realize that it takes a generation for real differences in ways of thinking and doing.
Let's keep praying and listening to God. He's the epitome of truth and justice - He knows what we need to become and how to be (like Jesus). He knows which way to go and empowers us to go there.
No comments:
Post a Comment