Patriot Realm

How often do we lament that we do not have visionaries and forward thinkers in business and government today? People who say " CAN DO " instead of " You CANNOT DO that. "  

I was all set to publish a piece for today when I chanced on a phrase about Margaret Thatcher being the " Iron Lady.": Well, of course, my mind went into its usual strange mode whereby it focuses on one word and ends up in an entirely different place than the place it had originally been heading. Instead of writing about the lack of political leadership around the world, I ended up writing about Iron Ore. 

And how an Australian and an American collaborated and changed the future of  Australia forever. But, in a strange way, I did end up where I intended to be. I just came via a different route. So enjoy my journey through the Pilbara, the shipyards of WWII in America and ending up at my destination: Great Minds and Determination are needed right now. It is time to get back to building wealth, not destroying it. 

Yesterday, one of our community members spoke about a film he watched called " Black and White." I had recently watched it and it triggered mixed emotions in me. It was based on the case of Max Stuart. It remains one of Australia's most controversial legal battles, marking a turning point in discussions around Indigenous rights, the death penalty, and potential miscarriages of justice in the country.

Today, I wonder what the outcome would have been.  A case that never made it to the courts because of Cultural Differences?  A case never discussed in media because of Misinformation laws?  Never championed by the Christian Church because it might upset the Islamists?  Have we as societies become so precious about diversity that Justice is no longer part of our vocabulary because it is not inclusive enough? 

It was two men - Rupert Murdoch, the now enemy of the Left and Father Tom Dixon, a passionate Priest from the Catholic Church who saved this Aboriginal man from the noose. If "they " are to destroy the Church and hobble the media, who will come to the rescue when it is our turn? 

A  perfect storm of crises has been building. It comes from still bubbling rage with governments for their single-minded obsession with Covid and the lasting damage caused by lockdowns, masks, and vaccine mandates, with the media for amplifying government fear porn and social media platforms for collusion with innovative techniques of censorship, to the cost of living pressures, Ukraine war, and the crimes, housing crisis, cultural decay, and social dislocations of mass immigration. A survey earlier this year in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland found that 60 percent of voters lack trust in political institutions.

People have come to hold politicians to be dishonest, incompetent, and lacking courage and integrity. Being unheard and vilified has broken public trust in the underpinning institutions of democracy. In the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, less than half the people in high-income developed countries trust their government, media, business, and NGOs. 

Recently, the internet has gone crazy over the issue of pets being eaten by illegal immigrants in America. Our furry and feathered Friends are so much part of our lives. 

There is something so fundamentally wrong about this. It reminded me of an article Flysa wrote some time ago.... enjoy. Monty.

As one gets older, it is sad to reflect on the many much-loved pets who have gone before.

My mother used to say their faces would flash before her in a passing parade. It is now the same for me as I advance in age.

As I write this, my laptop display image is that of my ginger Burmese cat Bo, long since departed.

When I was a child, my teacher taught us the story of Grace Darling, a heroine of enormous courage. I wonder how many of us have heard her name today or know of her incredible act of heroism one dark and stormy night in 1838?  It matters not what country you call home when considering people like Grace Darling. It is a story for everyone, from every background and every country. 

For there are many heroes in history whose names have been forgotten and whose acts of bravery have been washed ashore on a beach and taken away by the waves of indifference. 

This is our salute to one person whose name and deed should never be forgotten and, in the words of Wordsworth  " "But courage, Father! let us out to sea,
A few may yet be saved."