Conversations with a Kenyan

I was chatting with someone from Kenya the otherday, and we were talking about her impressions of this country. I have to say that her impressions were mixed at best. In particular the issue was the difference between the impression Australia likes to project of itself, honest, tolerant, ethical and so on, and her perceived reality.

Subjects like David Hicks, West Papua, Mandatory Detention, Aboriginal Health and the Coalition of the Easilly Conned, WMD's and Kids Overboard all cropped up.

The upshot, that she would rather return home, with all of its problems, than be part of what she saw as an immoral culture.

I can see why one would think this, and there is some truth to it on a number of levels, but I refuse to believe that the majority of people in this country subscribe to this viewpoint.

If that is the case, then isn't there a demand for change?

If there is, how does one effect change?

Damned good question. There are avenues like the expiation of middle class guilt approach, buy organic, shout at the tele and sponsor a child in Ethiopia. Ultimately that leads to the frustration that my Kenyan friend was expressing.

Join a political party you say.

OK

Which one?

Lets use the Tony Benn notion of power through collective action at the Ballot Box. Fine except you can run as an independent, and have no genuine power or influence. YOu could join the Liberals or Labor and be submerged in the ridiculous factional politics and time seving that both parties (do not fall for the Liberal lie that it is only the LAbor Party that has these issues)go in for. Fine, but with the drift towards the cynicalism of the Neo Cons I don't see lasting change, positive change happening that way.

You are sitting there thinking, He's gonna say join the Greens or Democrats. Except I'm not, or at least not in their current form.

The problem with the left he says setting the world to rights in one sentence, is that is has allowed itself to become fragmented. Thinking about the offerings of the left and centre left in Australia, you have effectively two parties with similar policies, ideology and most importantly constituency in the Greens and Democrats.

Looking at the recent South Australian and Tasmanian elections, it is not beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that had the Greens and Democrats been one party, rather than a pair of competitors, then we could be looking at less presence for Family First in the very least, and in lower house seats, things may have been slightly different as well.

At to this the broad spectrum of angry Lefties out there, the huge anti war marches did happen you know, then there is a constituency waiting to be picked up.

Maybe it is time for the Greens and Democrats to bite the bullet and merge to form the basis of a new party. Then, the left wing of the Labor Party could move across, leaving the loquacious Kim to slide further into irrelevancy.

In all seriousness, the time has come for us to take a stand on the continuing abuses of civil rights, human rights and workers rights that we are expected to swallow. Time for the left to start reshaping itself, take on the right with a fresh policy agenda and a group of "stars" like Bob Brown, Natasha Stott Despoja, even Gillard and Smith and an attractive future will beckon.

Time for a Bex and a Good Lie Down.