THE DISPIRITATION OF PETER SMITH

 I refer the readers of this blog in their multitudes to Peter Smith’s article ‘Authoritarianism in the Air’ to be found at https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2021/07/authoritarianism-in-the-air/ .

Smith, a frequent Quadrant contributor, begins with the statement: “Up until a few days ago I was sticking with Glady Berejiklian. This current ridiculous lockdown tested my resolve. But then, I thought, let’s look at the unenviable position political leaders have put themselves in.” He ponders who he might vote for in NSW next time around, and says “One Nation, Fishers and Shooters, informal, who knows? It is dispiriting if one dwells on it.”

As far as I have been able to determine, after its formation and the usual internal squabbles, the party that began as ‘One Nation’ became ‘Pauline Hanson’s One Nation’, or PHON, leaving nobody in any doubt as to who owned it, and who formulated 100% of its policies.  This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that one can be anti-authoritarian OR a member, follower, supporter or whatever of PHON, but one cannot be both.

As for the ‘ridiculous lockdown’: “Meanwhile, Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with more than 180 million confirmed cases and around four million deaths across nearly 200 countries.”

But for modern vaccines, we would be back to our European ancestors’ days of the Black Death, with carts trundling through the towns to the cry of ‘bring out your dead!’ And lockdown and social distancing was all they had for fighting it.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105

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