Tag Archives: Australia

Discrimination Against Immigrants is Spreading

Social Issues, , , ,

Because cats!

Photo by Aleksandar Popovski on Unsplash

So a 24/7 cat curfew has been spreading in Australia… And I’m a bit ticked off!

Our beloved household cats are immigrants. They invaded Australia several hundred years ago, coming with European settlers. Although dearly loved in countless households across Australia, they have become public enemy number one in many city councils. Some of them have committed the crime of annoying neighbours, killing local wildlife and getting lost. So many councils, in their great wisdom, have decided to impose a 24/7 cat curfew on all cats in the area.

These Councils are concerned about safety. And because safety trumps freedom in Australia, this means that discrimination against cat immigrants is OK.

Cats are not allowed to trespass on other people’s property. Thankfully many councils have realised that most cats still need to be outside, so in their wisdom, they are allowing cats in their own backyards. Such a great idea. We need to send a memo out to all the roaming cats to let them know. I’m sure they’ll be happy to oblige.

For all the cats that don’t speak English, the owners will need to be responsible for ensuring their cat doesn’t wander past the boundary lines. Thankfully there are options to assist with this. Zoo style enclosures are the answer for roaming cats. Good news for those zoo keepers or builders who are handy with this kind of thing. Good news for the rich too, who have spare money to pay someone to build it for them. And good news for the cats, who can enjoy the freedom of a beautifully designed enclosed outdoor prison, I mean space.

For the rest of the cat owners, they run the risk of large fines if their cat escapes outside and wanders. But that’s good news for councils of course, as it will bring in much needed revenue.

Some cat owners may decide to keep their cats inside from now on, as their cat doesn’t speak English and doesn’t understand the new rules. Those owners will have the joy of changing litter trays more frequently and yelling at their kids for leaving the door open and letting the cat escape yet again. That’s all good character development stuff that doesn’t hurt anyone. All for a good cause. And that cat meowing at the door can be entertained elsewhere inside. All cats love staying inside all day every day.

Safety is so very important. It always trumps freedom. Cats will be safe from now on. Safe from cars, fights and getting lost. Safety always enables happy and enriched lives.

On that note, humans should also be kept safe. Safe from hurting others and safe from hurting themselves. We should have 24 hour curfews too. It’s not safe for humans to leave their houses. Too many car accidents, work accidents, etc, etc. It’s much safer to be home.

I’m reminded of that saying — ‘the safest place for ships is in the harbour’. Yep, you bet it is!

Birds will now be safe of course. Safe from being attacked by cats. It’s very important to protect all creatures great and small. While we are at it, we should also look at protecting the safety of worms. There’s a lot of birds out there threatening their existence. Perhaps we need more zoo style enclosures for all the birds.

Such a safe society sounds just like the kind of society that everyone would love to live in.

In a safe society, cats can flourish and have maximum enjoyment of life. After all, why do they need to climb trees or go roaming. They don’t really enjoy that do they? That’s not part of a cat’s quality of life.

And if it was, it wouldn’t matter anyway, because cats don’t matter. Local wildlife and sensitive neighbours are much more important. Because they were here first. If cats want this unreasonable quality of life, they should pack up and go back to where they came from. After all, they are immigrants.

Cats don’t deserve to live outside anymore and climb trees and explore. Because cats aren’t native to Australia they are not a priority.

And so discrimination against immigrant cats is the answer, to achieve safety at the expense of freedom. An idea so brilliant, that councils across Victoria and other parts of Australia have begun embracing it one after the other and mandating it for all residents, whether they like it or not. It’s so good to live in Australia.

An Open Letter To Australia

Freedom, God, Inspiration, Mental health, Politics, Social Issues, Spiritual, , ,

Australia map 3Dear Australia,

We are an incredible nation. From the natural Uluru to the master built Opera House, we display outstanding beauty. From the original inhabitants to the British settlers to later immigrants, we epitomise diversity, and enjoy its benefits. We are passionate, yet easy going, hard-working, yet know how to celebrate. We despise facades and welcome gut level honesty. So I probably won’t surprise you when I also say… we have some serious problems.

We see never ending domestic violence in the news. The victims suffer in body and soul, robbed of their safety and human dignity, tortured by ongoing emotional turmoil. The perpetrators also suffer – their inner freedom is destroyed by their own hatred and lack of self-control. We are also robbed of their exceptionality.

There is an increasing and pervading darkness. It is most obvious in the atmosphere of our movies – every decade is darker than the one prior. Compare a 1950’s movie to one today. This increased darkness is also obvious in our faces, in our eyes. There is a loss of innocence which stands out.

Our nation is blistering with porn addiction – a huge percentage of particularly men and boys are addicted to lust, driven for a hit, minds altered, innocence lost, robbed of intellectual creativity and freedom because of the addiction that stalks them. And we as a nation are robbed of their finery, of their purest contribution to family and society. Not to mention the many partners who suffer silent anguish.

We see a tsunami of depression. It’s everywhere. Depression sucks the life out of people, robs them of their capacity, their ability to flourish and change, learn and grow. THERE IS NO FREEDOM! We never get to see their best.

I could go on. Each one of us have our own story.

I have to ask… Why are we suffering? What is diminishing our capacity? Where is our inner freedom?

I would like to suggest that as a society we are reaping the fruit of walking our own way.

We sing the song, “I Did It My Way” and “It’s My Life”. We believe that no-one can tell us what to do. ‘It’s my life, my choice.’ And this is true. But we are reaping the consequences. And the consequences are too much!

There must be another way.

Our problems are too big for the government to solve. They are too big for the universities to intellectualise. The media can bring them to our attention, but they can’t change anything? We have millions of different opinions, but which voice do we listen to amidst the cacophony on the airwaves? Nobody has a monopoly on national perspective. Not one of us qualifies for the job!

I put it to you that there is only One who can fix our nation’s problems…

And that One is God.

He’s the only one that sees everything at once, every person, every problem, every pain and the interaction across the globe of all of these things, impact now and impact across the generations. The God that was smart enough to create the intricacies and inter-relatedness of life on the planet is smart enough to restore order, if we will listen.

When we want something done properly, we ask the experts. If God is the creator of our world, our brains, our emotions and our communities, then he is the ultimate expert, so why not find out what he says. Why belittle our potential by following our own myopic vision when we could follow the one who sees everything?

God’s way is very different to ours. The ancient Scriptures read,

 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NLT)

 But what are his ways? And how do we walk in them?

I challenge you to find out.

God’s way leads to inner peace, hope and personal freedom. And on a larger scale, to national peace and prosperity. God is good and his ways are right. He personifies love in its purest form, whilst standing firm on justice and truth. He is both holy and revered, gentle and personal. He holds the keys to abundant life and gives us freedom to grab a hold of them… or freedom to choose our own way.

Let’s use our freedom to grab the keys and change our direction. Let’s humble ourselves and admit we are wrong.

I challenge my country, from the politicians, to the workers, from the business owners to those living on welfare, from the students to those serving our community – let’s stop living life our own way and start living life God’s way. It’s a change of perspective. It’s a change of priorities. And it’s therefore a change of consequences.

Let’s be a nation that learns to seek God’s truth and apply it in all areas of life, in every sphere of the community, with all the fruit that entails. Let’s see every individual released into the uniqueness and brilliance of who they have been designed to be. Why wouldn’t we want this? Why wouldn’t we sacrifice everything, including our own false freedom for the true freedom that is available.

In the words of Isaiah, the ancient prophet:

 “Seek the Lord while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near.
 Let the wicked change their ways
and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.” (Isaiah 55:6-7, NLT)

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