Francis Kennedy
I want you to forget about Covid, passports and traffic lights for a moment and I want to throw one word out there – “process”. Picture any disaster movie you want and you can visualise a round table of experts drawn from various countries or fields to discuss how to avert the impending doom. Differing scenarios and solutions are debated and, hopefully, it’s more a think tank than a dope ring. A direction is decided and the action superhero or heroes go off to save our bacon (normally successfully, I might add).
I would like to honestly ask where are the differing opinions? Where is the informative debate? Where is the Paul Holmes of our day who would pit two opposing agents in any situation on his show so the public could observe, listen and decide who was the villain and who was the victor? Why haven’t the best experts of our day got together and given us the opportunity to demonstrate intellectual freedom?
Instead, we have a government that proclaims itself our “one source of truth”. We have a media which is singing every note in the government’s songbook. Every dissenting voice is silenced or discredited. Those singing out of tune get thrown out of the choir and are prevented from singing anymore, and this is while the trumpet section is playing out “inclusivity and diversity”. Really?
Rather than educating with information and understanding, the theme of the concert is fear and public responsibility. People make decisions for many reasons and that’s fine, I respect that. But there is a reason informed consent is called informed consent. To me, the way that this is rolling out does not acknowledge the intelligence and individuality of people. It doesn’t protect the rights and integrity of people. It smacks of an agenda – pure and simple. The perfect crisis to bring all into line.
But I do wonder when all is said and done and the government has its way on this, what is the next thing they are coming for or the next goal they will stop at nothing to achieve?
One word – process. It matters.