NEW DIRECTION

⚪️🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣⚫️ NEW DIRECTION Ed. No. 72 - FREEDOM = WORK = DISCIPLINE

“have a go, Australia!”

Bill Clinton when he was President of the United States once commented that for a long time in America there had been a debate about whether the US should continue to act as the world’s policeman.

Trump moving into the White House presents the perfect opportunity for all Nations to get their own backyard in order. Further to that comment the changes that are manifest in our world currently are starting to make us do that anyways.

This can be a good thing or we can make it a most horrible ride.

In a way the tariff increases imposed by this newly arrived US disciplining regime are like pushing children out of a protective family home and making dependents walk on their own. I wonder too in any case whether many Nations have been riding on the coat tails of the US for far too long? The United States don’t want to be looking after others anymore. They want to look after themselves. Not a bad thing when doing it with the right motivation. But let’s not ignore the fact that they are the leaders of free market capitalism and probably amongst the top greediest of nations on the planet. They will tie themselves in knots with their own created confusions.

Listening to the Australian Ambassador in Washington Kevin Rudd comment on the 7.30 Report ABCTV he said that this current US Administration was “Transactional”.

That got me to wondering what “transactional” meant?

It’s all about materialism and winning and doing the best deal possible for them. You can forget about anything “ethereal” like past friendships, the shared history of fighting side by side in wars together, cultural kindnesses between nations, anything where subtle humanities are involved. It’s all about “Show me the money” - Jerry Maguire.

This is Capitalism on the edge of the abyss. America is on the cusp of becoming isolated and they will have done it all to themselves. Their neurosis will really kick in then.

If Americans have deluded themselves into thinking that more of everything is going to make them happier then just watch and see how unhappy a Nation can become. Simply put happiness is not an attribute of matter. Someone of wisdom once said to me “Big money equals big headaches”. I think it’s also a truism too that more of everything can lead to less happiness.

Quite some lessons coming our world’s way.

So can it be said it is time to “have a go, Australia!”? And in a simple sentence that means taking the fullest responsibility for ourselves and walking our own walk.

Is that so bad?

The “have a go, Australia!” theme might just be an appropriate slogan to segue into the proposed Sydney World Expo intending to build hope across the whole Nation and onto a World in the grip of great uncertainty. It is a theme essentially about encouraging us in our own decided direction.

It’s about becoming/being grown ups.

It would be true to say that for many years the US upheld an international role model status with due diligence. That’s when they were great.

The US is now empty and in need of regeneration.

Hard to understand the need(?) to bring in a wrecker to knock things down and start over.

Are too many humans truly locked in that stubborn a prideful mindset?

Looks to be that way.

Best thing Australia can do is grab the baton of opportunity and get running with it. - Neville ☺︎

ADDENDUM

Something of a surprise to pick up a dog eared copy of last Sunday’s Telegraph in my local coffee shop after writing this blog to discover that my views expressed here were something like a mirror image to what conservative columnist Peta Credlin was espousing in her commentary.

Is it that we baulk at the idea of “discipline” because so many regard this as akin to having our “freedoms” taken away by others? Freedoms never come freely. There’s always “work” to attain or maintain freedoms. Freedom = Work = Discipline. The trick is to do that work with initiative, willingly, even pro-actively with great enthusiasm. That is an art-form where too few seem to have found the key.

I wish I could discover it!