Push back and how to do it

Push back
The progressives have finally recognized a problem with their philosophy.
They have no credible means of push back.
 It doesn’t help that they don’t know where the solid ground is to push back from.  Lets face facts : their whole lives they have been anti authoritarian in their attitude. Pushing down barriers
Progressives philosophy has always been that progress is automatic; you don’t have to do anything ; just sit back , do what you like .Life is so much better if you do nothing.
Many progressives are so much at sea that they cannot see that what drives the ship is not an uphill breeze (their faith ) but drivers from all directions. 
Even when they push back against the past,  its because there is something solid in there somewhere (and best to find it so your push back is not too spongy and goes nowhere) ,
If you are going to build a better society,  you have to build on something good from the past .
A few progressives , thankfully, have realised that you can't always have your cake and eat it too . You can't really be a hedonist and still practice marriage.
But such realisations come at great cost to rationalists who want to be truthful- simple rationality is usually too simple rationales for one;s own predjudices.
Others, having discovered for themselves the high risk possibility of totally non-objective mind construct in their very own way with words have trouble constructing anything --- "whatever"

Neither of these, still rare reactionaries, are now no longer fully into education; They are nervous,

 They just want push back of some kind. So, what may look like strength in the  pushy passion of the present is not progress but desperation. The ships at sea; That’s asking HOW and not looking back and seeing the obvious; you ignored a principle that worked . Its most likely its also because you don’t recognize what works ; you have not eyes to see what works.
BB progressives have never been into power until they got it : until they find themselves in the ABC or in politics ; These are  not places where the only effective tool they know is blunt push whether by law ridicule ( eg anything from the past is a solid but dumb doctrine of progressives )or PC logic of the class  .
What a relief pushback at the press of a button. a new law; a program of why men are so badly behaved now that we all know better from our very own experience . .
 It all very well too spending your lives, as many of the purely reactionary types do,   pushing back on the past but there comes a time when such predictable and pervasive  cynicism breeds roots in your  own family and friends .
Even if you still believing in” moving on” and that you indeed moving on,  the testimony from the words and ideals is that you are going backwards and looking backwards .I mean lest face facts you are always using the past to tell your story .  

Nothing more symbolizes this in 2017 than the grab for power from that old institution of marriage.

Baby booming progressives may want push back, but they really don’t know how to get it –

The tough preventative answer is, of course, still true; its just not widely accepted because its "old hat".  Loved people don’t get angry, ongoing wilful ignorance of our needs by others makes us angry. Add to the modern list wilful ignorance and arrogance by the media and wannabes makes some people very angry and depressed.  We all need to be understood – not lectured to from the screen. Lay off you lot .
 The progressives have been banging on for so long against what they say is the weaknesses of the Christian position that they can’t see its strengths.
To be a person of faith requires you to  stand your ground and not move ; the ultimate in push back positions .   To be resilient you have to take a punch without flinching and to be resilient you have to know what the disease drives the  fighting- what contention reform and rebuke is all about.  It takes two to tango,  which means self-control and self-assessment are obligatory if you are going to get some real firmness back in your life .
Its not all about them or you but both of you
The best push back turns out to be to be love ,  the light has shined in the darkness but the world has rejected it  .
 If you love someone whose thinking and acting is wrong you push back .

Trusting people

An excellent series of testimonies of domestic violence on ABC Four corners fails to  direct attention to what we can all do about it ;

1. Recognize the signs .  
2. Establish the facts - "does this person relate well to their parents ? - if not:     beware
   
   People are too trusting .

We all ought to beware of children who grow up from an early age without boundaries; thinking they can and must control their environment.Seeking control but with no respect for boundaries,
Mothers,Fathers friends and family need to remind their loved ones that marrying someone who has grown up that way is dangerous. We are all dangerous .
One of the reasons maybe we don't talk about it is because marrying anyone is always a risky  thing .
ANGER - rejection of our person
The point is that conflict and anger ( eg rejecting who I am or feeling rejected for being who I am ) will occur. God rejects us as we are,  so why wouldn't some one else who loves us too? Sometimes rejected for right reasons , sometimes rejected because we observers have flawed vision .the control freak can be  daily lost because dep down he does not know where to rest in himself /herself . These things used to be taught in  Sunday School - how to accept yourself  To love yourself .

After all ,after God , our partners are the ones who see we are not perfect . Our partners , also like God don't always like what we do and say even though they may believe in us . Understanding what "believing in us "means is at the heart of this issue .
Luther the angry man found self acceptance by being honest with himself - noone sins the daylight he said - so don't be deceived about what you see in your mirror  , You are going to have to forgive yourself and your partner. Love is not about being nice ;That's often what con men and con women specialize in. Love seeks renewal and restoration  through confession , confrontation and repentance


The reason why there is epidemic of DV is because post modernism does not talk effectively to dealing with anger and evil,  power and person. It does not accept and therfore deal deal with the sins we commit every day. maybe DV should be called denial violence.

Behaviorism and denial of original sin ( there are just good and bad people )provides  no alerts other than behavior ( which is too late/slow )
This blinkered post Christian idea  doesn't tell us that we are all capable of bad and we are all going to have to deal with real anger in our marriages and with our children

Pride goes before a fall

Pride is a important thing to have, hold and treasure,  but so is humility .
We are so unworthy of claims to either that the mere mention of it , by anyone,  is scary.



Presumably because we want to believe more in ourselves than we warrant ,its tempting , especially for leaders to jockey up the people with talk of things we can be proud of . The tempataion when parties hold office on a knife edge is huge . Ultimately though the peope and the politics must reject the talk and face the deeper truth


This distortion of reality seems to be worse when there are heaps of thing we can't be proud of .  (eg The well being of one generation of Aussies and the poverty of the next )
Politicians and even our public broadcaster , use the talk to distract us and make us feel better about ourselves -Cynical positivists
Malcolm Turnbull like many progressives ,has been doing a bit of that talk too .
Modern leaders would do well to think of leaders who pass the test of working towards true commonwealth Like Queen Victoria - who held the tension  that we all have to do in our families - keep a balance between noise and real need.

Leaders like her whose "defiant humility lay at the heart of her empire" GK Chesterton .

Dystopia and how to avoid it

Our children are more aware of the risk that we BB are . How in the world can we take the blinkers off ,
This discussion will be very incomplete for moment If you have questions comments please do below ,
let me give you some of my perspectives

1. Dystopia is a predictable result of everyone doing what they feel like
   I feel like a mushroom growing under a cloud of overpowering expenditure on children generated by generous public servants and the equally generous sentiments of the public who now say Yes to it all ..Buyin is just too easy !
    
2.  Whats wrong with our democracy ?
   And then when push comes to shove I am expected to bruise my brain again with our beloved democracy ( me thinks we love it too much to see its limits)
   
   
   How come we are expected to trust our parliament ? . These "compromise to stay in power " minors and majors making sausages ( Annabel Crabbe on The House )
   
   Saying No is part of saying Yes .Life and logic is bigger than a few wonderful words like tolerance and equity . When you get home you have decide where each one sits - and when . 

When we con each other

Nothing is closer to the heart of every man and woman  that his own sense of identity .

Jesus reminds the audience that there is no way to self acceptance other than a certain sort of self love,  If we are honest like the film " Chasing Amy "or "Anesthesia" is , we would face  that fact that humans waste a lot of time and money seeking acceptance from others and in powerful  PC ideals ,  which keep changing.  We pay big to please our unsatisfied egos ,The media are not the only ones to blame - we buy in to the con !

The consequences of our indulgence here should sometimes  be the proper focus of the political process but with the almighty rush of the sales crew in the media , the consequences may not be even considered ., Probabilities are better because the audience now are so easily confused by a mere correlation of the glory club of fact checkers ( there own facts usually.)


Seeking the bread that truly satisfies is the best intention that the biggest con relies on. But , to be conned means you must at first miss that bad intent is hidden behind a good intent statement .

• What could be a better intro line that -You are doing the right thing  ? ( Luke 10:25)
• What could be a better way to get a yes than to offer the gift without real cost ; to make it seem real easy !
• What could be a better way to disguise that we are not willing to do anymore than the hidden excuse that its too hard  ( Luke 10:29) Which other  couple would you like to help today????
• What could be more guaranteed to clinch the deal  than having the smiling face of the salesman standing there in front of you saying - "its now or never again I am not going away till you decide" . He doesn't act like most bullies,( or does he? )  but there is a stand over element here. 

If the above is true , then it would therefore be no surprise to our thoughtful forefathers ( had enough experience to know ) that we , like them, would find it easy to bolster another persons opinion of themselves if it made us feel better about ourselves .
Either  unredeemed and unaware, we fall for the con because low self acceptance is the default position we often find ourselves in after a normal day at the office

Such is the simple case put by the SSM salesman,   Reject the bigots and change the language so a small group of outsiders don't feel so bad about themselves , We have to change the meaning for the majority and for future generations but that doesn't matter - the dead are not here to counsel us about being conned and thinking we are changing the world by our very own brilliance and generosity-- the foremost of freethinking progressives ,
By changing the language we will no longer have a problem , cultural change the easy way , the way of Marx,  the communist party and the most tyrannical and lazy thinking amongst us

Be strong , say no and tell the salesman to go away.

The end of an error - cost of feel good tokens is coming home to roost

The end of the world is not nigh ,
but the end of  the big popular media world of crapping on carelessly about conservation is ,

The left can go on and on about how big business of some careless bastard ( WWLF ads for tigers) does this wrong -  but only for so long ---- before we ALL pay and pay big time-- if they go political .

Should we be worried about the state of the Murray River Basin ? I think not, but I'll tell you why later.

Here' s a clue for later .
The majority of Aussies get off scot free ---- theoretically
Their rivers are on the coast...   Not my problem mate?

Let me remind you of the journey so far , Lots of great ideas  but great costs that eventually  hit YOUR hip pocket .$1 a litre  for made water and carbon taxes to fund solar and windmills,

Worse -we have pretended collectively that solar and wind will keep us warm in winter. Blind sided twaddle that makes people feel good- at least in the short term,

This thinking is not true conservation at all  True conservation  IS "short term pain long term gain"inspired by the option" short term gain , long term pain" . 

We as a society have collectively been kidding ourselves .

Now that the chickens have come home to roost collectively public political conservation games are going to be sat on . The euphoria of just pretending to do something good will  stop because the costs of the ineffective drugs we are taking to you and me  and our kids is huge  

Did we and our leaders pretend that conservation doesn't cost ? The simple correct answer is that we have.

Our water and electricity costs have got up because someone has to pay and that's us .We must learn to be more realistic about what happens in the real world. Thats a basic restarting point for all who want to still be conservationists in the best sense of the word ( sustainable productive economy ) 

THE TRUTH is that leaders and the media can only get greedy people to vote for a conservation measure  if those people think someone else will pay  . eg   Big business or,  in the case of the river or the reef,   the farmers or the ship  or coal  owners.  

(The wonderful  small group who do conservation by paying for it themselves is small ; They can only do it because THEY manage to keep costs  down ( something Govt isn't so good at) or are prepared to wait for a quality reward.)This group plus professional advisors  is the proper building model for conservation action,  NOT the now more common idea of popular licence  for government coercion ( Ok in those rare moments when danger is unseen)

When this ANU  teacher Pittock wants more money for studies in his area , why does it make news? Why is Pittocks story  news ? I suggest it is "news that is not news"  because the audience like feel good stories and worse :

Internet assent is dangerous because they is no cost for comment 
The audience still don't get it that to agree with him  will cost someone money.

 Its hypocritical assent action news because the Professor wants more money for his cause ( and their are probably equally worthy causes )and WE allowed him time to play the violin in our houses;  Switch em off i say

The reason this issue is  on your screen is because if we have a history of assent to giving the bloke money ( 5 billion in his case )---because it will make us feel good .see Telecom 2000 report on Futures ( 1978)

We should NOT say "its worthy of attention and money" if WE are not prepared to pay (and to weigh up which bucket)

-We should not say YES  just because to say no will make us feel bad .

( This is surely the mistake at the heart of the modern ages messy dealings with morality) 

We should say NO because

-the decision is not ours ( none of our business) and

-there is a high risk that its appearance on the screen has more to do with making someone

 feel better ( by responding in a certain way) and

- our BLINDNESS about the fact that SOMEONE  WILL PAY is still current ( blowing the budget in fact)

 Dairy farmers along the Murray have already paid dearly as a result of  actions dictated , not by sound cost benefit analysis

 but by feel good reactions to press and party predictions of disaster.  Disasters that the WENTWORTH group have NOT identified ,

It is in the nature of catchment development that we reduce the amount of water flowing out of rivers . Sure if there is a species or systems issue lets hear it ---  BUT not guilt trips about the very fact that it happens . The muart river system is highly modified . 

If in doubt say no and spend your conservation dollar locally so government don't charge you so much for US  all giving in to those who don't want to pay a cent for their decisions/goodwill gestures.

Call for constitutional documents from the Muslim community

How can we better deal with radical Islam and the fear and support it generates ?
We can  insist  on less confusion about what is taught or can be taught in the name of Islam or its Sects.

Reducing confusion by being more clear –Clear constitutions
So like all institutions, there are variations of opinion about what it is to be a member of a group.

The way the West has resolved this for centuries is to have a constitutional document which the group itself defines what is essential to be in or out of the group. It allows freedom but within limits that help both insiders and outsiders to know what they mean.

The constitution is not just binding – it helps us relate to each other better -both insiders and outsiders. New associations, including those who want to call themselves religious ( like Patriots, Non deterministic Atheists) are best to create their very own constitution if they want to avoid unnecessary fear ,ridicule , anger and schism . We the audience can’t know where all new ideas are coming from,  but it helps if left field groups help themselves and make it easier for us to know when or why we might listen-- by constitution connection. 

Australian Christians are and always have been happy to accept the critical role of constitutional documents and specifically lobbied ( eg Fairfax) for the AC to proclaim freedom for all faiths to have their own –even outside Australia. This is the case throughout Western history and reflects the initial first book understanding of Judeo-Christians that all me are born under God to make their own decisions about their lives ; The critical constitutional documents for Christians are well known,  studied and  criticized in and outside institutions ;  for nearly 2  thousand years. To help clarity further Constitutions close to Christian are called Sects.
Why don’t Muslims call ISIS a Sect ?     

Clearly Christians celebrate the separation of church and State .”My kingdom is not of this world “ Jesus said. This means that for most Christians,  political action of the church  must be first and foremost an expression of the work of individuals and they alone should drive any concerted action – not that of the church – His church . 
Would it not be helpful if Muslims too made clear how they understand the way they individually and collectively get involved in the State?
Maybe it’s time for all religious groups to do the same and restate the way they relate to State issues?

The nervous, apparently non-religious public?
What most thinking people are against is confusion of fact and logic about what is religious. We cant do much about the fear of terrorists but we can do something to reduce the fear and ignorance about what its taught.  It’s not just politicians who have a problems here. The majority of the West have lost touch with their religious roots .(their radical elements)  This lost understanding is clear to anyone who studies both the talk and the action of groups like the far right ;  it’s clear their understanding  of what it means to be a real Christian is not clear. Get rid of unnecessary confusion .

New religious groupings
Any parties who want to claim ownership of Christian culture (not so rare in Europe at the moment) must face the dilemma that , true believers  go from extreme right to far left in most countries .Patriots only own the Christian position as far as they themselves individually own the known Christian constitution . In not accepting the separation of church and state it appears some Patriots  cannot represent the Christian constitution.
  When the Patriots, say in Poland at the moment,   speak of being in a Christian country, they are talking much more to culture not constitution. Because they are seeking associations they find it easy not to define their own. They are often not clear whether why are talking culture or constitution.  Like Italian cooking is a cultural thing, its boundaries do not need a constitution. For most Christians the place of culture in their constitution and that of our government is a controversial thing (See Christ and Culture – R Neibuhr;  ) 
What our society needs ( is not more fear and confusion that we are being fed) is to be more reminded of things that are clear;  about SOLID matters of constitution.

It’s the constitutional documents that give us confidence to talk freely and more deeply about our differences. We can do all this as before because Western culture asserts the individual’s freedom with the limits of the words in the appropriate constituting body.    It’s in the constitutional documents that we can talk to real conflict and resolve to agree to disagree or meet and act separately.

 Constitutional documents should interest Patriots, conservative Christians and all thinkers alike—yet we are being denied them – by lack of pressure and focus by politicians like George Brandis. Some conservative Christians don’t want to talk about killing instructions in the Old Testament but we make them. Let’s be fair and expect a minimum level of rational discussion and reduced labeling of religious groups.


It’s in the woof and warp of Western culture at its best to hold people to account for their words and the words of their constituting groups. According to clear Christian practice for thousands of years we have to be very careful how we speak about individuals but there “all hell “is permissible to throw at institutions. Political animals ( including media) do not generally like this teaching if there is conflict between them and us. The truth can find itself on a very lonely road.

Reducing Confusion  Why we expect more clarity and accuracy from  the Australian  government
It’s  a bad day  for the religious radicals of one group to not answer the tough questions asked of them.

It’s a very much worse day for the whole world when the West hasn’t got the courage to ask the tough questions in the first place – and expect answers or say .as Christians can be expected to in relation to  some Levitical laws )
We expect our leaders to ask Muslims to clarify clearly if there are any matters of conflict with their faith and the Australian constitution . It is NOT enough to just talk of radical and moderate  groups . Constitutional clarification could be expected to make relations between migrants and the people more rational and clear and reduce the tension created by the current unnecessary uncertainty.

In my opinion, many of us who welcome the strong moral focus warm hospitality and hard work of Muslims would want this.  

We don’t expect our leaders to speak for Christians or to assume that Australia is a “ Christian country ( another careless and unacceptable inaccuracy) We do expect and support our  leaders to say  that long time faithful supporters of the Australian constitution are those who publish their constitution.   The Christian constitution fully and clearly upholds the Australian constitution and we expect all other religious groups to say so clearly in theirs. 

Name calling religions is not helping

Some of our Australian leaders have been making basic errors of logic in saying that its only radical forms of religion that are the ones at issue. This cannot be so. Mother Teresa is a radical Christian, just as Francis of Assisi was.

Most Christians would warmly accept the above persons as Christians. What happened to Jesus politically and what he said, testify that he was an earthshaking radical.

To a generation of Westerners who largely denied the power of religion (their own parents faith), this real power of religion comes as surprise. No matter- reactionaries abound but who is sound ?I assert its the sustainable reliable and predictable nature of the Christian constitution that can and should now form a focus of confidence as it has done right through the centuries. You don’t have to agree with it to accept these realities about it.( as TS Eliot says below) At least we know from thousands of years of history what a believer is expected to do to conform and not be punished or excluded.