We Come To Talk With You Again
"Jobs are not just the source of money; they are the basis for the rituals, customs and routines of working-class life. Destroy work and, in the end, working-class life cannot survive. It is the loss of meaning, of dignity, of pride, and of self-respect that comes with the loss of marriage and of community that brings on despair, not just or even primarily the loss of money."
The Deaths of Despair.
The traffic was intense. Deep sorrow. The grappling hooks were out. They were dodging between the weaves. "I'm surprised how open he is," said one, but it was difficult to know the terrain, just how deep inside enemy territory they were. Or he was. "This is the result of years of mismanagement of the case," another huffed. And he didn't know where to turn. A dying parent. A dismal shock. Remembrances. He was often shocked now by what he saw. How could this place be so badly managed? How could this be allowed to go on? How did it get to this?
They were calling for you, that deep ephemeral swirl, all the stronger for having been here before. He still didn't understand why location was so important. They came for you in conquering spirit, blessed be the weak, and then the collapse of the country heralded everything foretold, and we were coming to bless you and through these interlaces, through those meshing intersections, points of difference, points the same, yes we awoke, yes, he could hear all the grumblings, and then made nice.
"We're not leaving you this time," they insisted, and it didn't matter how much he tried to dull his consciousness or escape their sometimes draining presence, it did feel, then, as if they were here to stay.
Of course, for however long it suited them. For however long he served a purpose.
"He's been like this since childhood."
"We saw him then. We see him now."
The next array of advance soldiers, or more precisely protective spirits, were even more frightening than the last; the ones who moved through the trees, the ones who unfolded in a technology not born on Earth, terraforming territory, waiting, waiting. You cannot wait too long, because time is different for us.
And there they were, those strange creatures, like flying stingrays or pterodactyls flying overhead; their grappling hook mouths, their eagle eyes, their advanced sensors.
Don't for a minute think we don't know who you are. Don't think for a moment we cannot see you, cannot read your thoughts, cannot discern friend from foe, are not extremely dangerous to anyone who threatens not us, because you cannot threaten us, but anyone who threatens our emissaries.
Yes, it's true. We come to change history, your history. Our history is beyond a thousand star systems. You do not have the neural capacity to understand. But never mind that.
We can come in love. We can come in masquerade.
"We will welcome you again."
The woke blathered about the "climate crisis", a term cooked up by so-called marketing experts, while all around the same people never raised a single word as the right to protest was abolished, governments expanded their control into every corner of people's lives, and the seeds for the destruction of the country were everywhere sown.
Fortunately for him, there was power on his side. Fortunately for them, there was kindness and forgiveness in the mix.
For those who had not lied themselves into office, did not pretend to be something they weren't, and who were not thieves.
Lazarus rose from the dead.
The Resurrection Of Lazarus. Eugene Delacroix.
HEADLINES
‘The whole world has to deal with shortages’: Hunt confident on vaccine supply
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt insists Australia remains on track to roll out the first coronavirus vaccines in late February.
NSW Premier strikes back at Palaszczuk
Victoria and Tasmania announce border easing with Sydney as Gladys Berejiklian says Annastacia Palaszczuk and Queensland tourism are a ‘victim’ of that state’s border policy.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has hit back at Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for “name calling” after he suggested Queensland dip into its own budget to support the state's struggling tourism operators. The treasurer this morning told Sky News the Morrison government has done the “bulk of heavy lifting” in providing economic support for struggling businesses – particularly the tourism industry – throughout the pandemic. His comments come after Ms Palaszczuk appealed to the federal government to extend JobKeeper payments for those struggling operators on the back of announcing Queensland’s border will reopen to Greater Sydney after slamming shut just days before Christmas.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg blasts Annastacia Palaszczuk’s calls to extend JobKeeper
Annastacia Palaszczuk says thousands of tourism businesses are at risk if JobKeeper is not extended. But Josh Frydenberg has a message for her.
But the push has been slammed by Mr Frydenberg, who told Sky News the government had already funnelled $27.9bn of economic support to the state.
“We have delivered more than three times what the Queensland government has committed to,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“We’d welcome further announcements by the Palaszczuk government and from all state governments to reach into their pockets and provide the support that is necessary as part of Australia’s economic recovery.”
'Summer is on vacation for the south-east' as rain sets in and temperatures plummet
“For those of us in media,” Murdoch said in a video posted on the Herald Sun website, “there’s a real challenge to confront: a wave of censorship that seeks to silence conversation, to stifle debate, to ultimately stop individuals and societies from realising their potential.
“This rigidly enforced conformity, aided and abetted by so-called social media, is a straitjacket on sensibility. Too many people have fought too hard in too many places for freedom of speech to be suppressed by this awful woke orthodoxy.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/30/scott-morrison-aerodynamic-populism-and-the-art-of-never-choosing-a-side
When I’m at work, watching Scott Morrison intently, I see a shape-shifter. During my recent break, the impression I caught was related to this kinetic quality, but slightly different. In the rare moments Morrison managed to punctuate my consciousness, I heard a prime minister who validates everything.
Lest this feel like a distinction without a difference, I’ll step through what I mean by this.
January is typically culture war season. Morrison started the month by changing a word in the national anthem, in part to acknowledge Indigenous Australians (instead of “young” and free, Australia was to be “one” and free).
By the time the country was warming up for the annual discussion about whether or not Australia Day should still fall on 26 January – the opening salvo of a colonial power’s violent dispossession of the first Australians – Morrison cast himself as a non-combatant in the history wars. He was about respecting “all” the stories.
Morrison tries to maximise what he’s for, or sort of for, and limit what he’s against, unless there is currency in picking a side
The prime minister noted Indigenous Australians were the “great overcomers” because they had survived colonisation. Perhaps this was the greatest Australian story. But the convicts had it tough, too, on that grim sea journey to the penal settlement, and how good are the migrants who helped build a nation in the new world? From that bedrock of every child getting a prize, Morrison managed to pole vault over the change the date controversy by noting in general terms that it was impossible to “cancel” the past.
I’ve said before that Morrison has in the past experimented with a copy-cat version of Trumpism.
But the prime minister now seems to be intent on honing his own genre of aerodynamic populism. In an age of polarisation and identity politics, the prime minister seeks longevity in office by wafting, watchfully, above the fray rather than deploying the Trump technique of defining himself through confrontation.
Morrison, at least in this particular iteration, tries to maximise what he’s for, or sort of for, and limit what he’s against, unless there is currency in picking a side.
So what might this “big tent” technique portend about the year ahead? The prime minister enters the new political year trying to preserve what he would regard as optimal operating conditions.
Obviously no prime minister wants to preside over a pandemic and the first recession in 30 years. But Mr Marketing is intent on reinforcing the brand he developed with the help of the premiers in 2020. Let’s call the brand “competent in a crisis”.
Morrison will spend the coming year telling Australians we are not yet out of the crisis, both because it is true, and because politically, it is optimal. If we are still in the crisis, Morrison can keep restive colleagues at bay.