Let’s park identity politics for a bit, shall we? Trigger warnings, superfast accusations of misogyny, racism, political correctness, homophobia, transphobia, cultural appropriation and all the rest that tie up our public discourse in knots of hot takes but achieve little else. Let’s put it aside for a while. These are undoubtedly emotional, morally-charged issues that can hurt people and cause them harm. They are also easy peasy issues for those of us on all sides of politics who offer instant opinions on the Drum and Sky or on Q&A’s Twitter feed. They’re hot buttons, and they won’t disappear; they’ll still be there when we get back to them.
Right now we need to focus, to decide not what matters, but what matters most. Lots of things matter, lots of things are important. But we are at a time when a few things really matter and deserve prioritising. A few things into which the progressive side of politics could put its energy, refusing to be distracted by those whose purpose is to stir fury for sport or, more kindly, those who say something careless. A few things that reasonable conservatives, those whose incomes aren’t dependant on inflaming culture wars, might agree need tackling, or at least talking rather than shouting about. This is crazy optimistic considering the sequential hysteria of our public discussions, the latest being the tizzy, largely fuelled by the news, comment and leader pages of the Australian newspaper, over a few words spoken by Yassmin Abdul Majid almost two weeks ago on Q&A.
Let’s acknowledge that this show is cynical. It contrives to orchestrate conflict, seemingly for the sole purpose of encouraging follow-up “news” the next day. These stories aren’t about what somebody has done, but what somebody has said. During a shouting match between the 25-year-old Muslim Abdul Majid and Senator Jacqui Lambie — in which it was impossible for anything sensible to be said — Abdul Majid insisted that “Islam is the most feminist religion”. She meant it in a theoretical sense. She was talking about her personal practice of Sharia. She wasn’t endorsing extremism in any form. Lambie, whose words as an elected representative should matter more, isn’t known for teasing out complexities. Her stance that anyone who supports Sharia in Australia should be deported is about as helpful as Pauline Hanson’s “policy” to ban the building of mosques. Heavens, this is Q&A, which invites people like Lambie to appear because of their outlandish views. Those of us who can see what is going on don’t have to take the bait. What a waste of energy for a group of Muslim leaders to demand through a petition that the ABC apologise to Abdul Majid for somehow putting her in unsafe environment.
Who cares that a “rival petition” from an alt-right group demanded that the ABC “publicly condemn and fire” Abdul Majid for “blatantly lying” about the merits of Sharia? At least it was entertaining. The group twisted itself into knots because it really, really cares about free speech, but NOT when free speech involves the “taxpayer-funded ABC”. And what a blow for feminism for the gender adviser to the chief of the defence force to suggest the criticism of Abdul Majid was motivated by her being female, another “telling example of what happens to women who stand up for gender equality and dare to voice their opinions with conviction”. It wasn’t, and to suggest so is to render feminism ridiculous.
Similarly, can we forget about Milo Yiannopoulos, the professional provocateur who resigned from alt-right site Breitbart recently after finally going too far even for his conservative cheerleaders? His purpose in life is to provoke reactions from progressives. There is no point debating him, and there is no point in giving people like him the publicity they crave by trying to shut down his speeches. He’s ugly and he’s been well exposed. Respond to him with what he fears most: Silence. So what could people of reasonable goodwill focus on? Here are a couple of ideas.
This is a historic moment. We have a few years at the most to prevent catastrophic climate change that is already upon us and is indeed a threat to civilisation if the world does not take urgent action. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Bureau of Meteorology did not equivocate in their state of the climate report last year — the intensity and frequency of extreme heat events have increased and there has been an increase in the intensity of extreme fire weather. These aren’t theories any more.
This issue should concentrate minds now without giving attention to climate change sceptics, who can bellow from the fringes all they like. A fair chunk of the media allows the government to get away with continuing to play politics with it, barely mentioning climate change during the ongoing conniptions about renewable energy, forgetting to point out that keeping average temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels will mean a rapid transition from a high carbon-intensity energy system to a low one. Our coal addiction will end and lumps of coal being fondled in parliament won’t change that. The media has a responsibility in this, but so do all of us, and it requires talking across partisan divides. Public opinion is in favour of taking stronger action on climate change, including investing more in cleaner energy. Business groups in Australia and overseas want consistent policy so they can plan investments with some certainty. We can march about this issue, write to politicians about it, educate ourselves so that distortions don’t get traction, that tactics to exploit fears of ballooning power bills don’t work this time. There is a related issue — the impact of Donald Trump’s presidency. There are those who caution that it is early days and that Trump might not prove as dangerous as some fear, but the initial signals are ominous.
Again, the responsibility for resisting what David Frum in the Atlantic called the “slide away from democracy” that Trump’s approach to the presidency represents — a disdain for the rule of law, a mingling of his personal business interests and the presidency, a shrugging at evidence that Russia intervened in an American election, calling the media the “enemy of the American people” — lies with those who lean conservative in their political ideas, as much as with progressives.
Frum argues that conservatives have a greater responsibility to resist the erosion of American institutions, the casual approach to the western alliance and the discrimination inherent in immigration and refugee policies targeted at Muslims. He throws out a challenge to the Americans — they need to do something, to make this their “finest hour”. Trump’s influence spreads across the globe, encouraging strongmen and populists everywhere. A major study late last year found that trust in our politicians and even satisfaction with democracy are at record lows. This is not a curiosity any more, something that big political parties need to manage but not address. It shows the fragility at the heart of Australian democracy, and it’s worth our urgent attention.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
Gay Alcorn is Melbourne editor, Guardian Australia. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and is a three-times Walkley award winner. She is a former editor of the Sunday Age and columnist for the Age.
