Today we briefly celebrate 5 years of podcasting and then move on to discuss contemporary topics.
Who are we?
Paul, a bike riding music loving libertarian English Teacher, with a keen interest in Japan and China who is looking for love and as elder statesman of our group he represents the Baby Boomers.
Waz, is the founder and patron of a community running group but due to injury, he doesn’t run, he started a bike riding tour guide business but due to Covid-19, can’t guide and he is an engineer but due to job dissatisfaction has retired and no longer engineers. He started our beer sponsorships and thankfully still drinks beer. I wasn’t sure who he should represent but I looked up gen x.
Scott, is a private school educated accountant and a former card carrying member of the Liberal Party. But being an openly gay man he is the closest thing we have to a representative of an oppressed minority.
I’m Trevor. I’m an ex-lawyer who dabbles in watercolours and plays squash at a local country club. I live in a McMansion in the leafy western suburbs of Brisbane with a tennis court and a custom built wood fired pizza oven so I naturally represent the working class.
Actually my credentials are pretty good.
My grandfather.
No middle name.
Father Anonymous
Congratulates us on 5 years
What have we learned?
5 years and 260 episodes.
What have we learned?
We started off thinking that if people only knew what unfair privileges are being handed to religious groups then they would be appalled and rise up and object.
Wrong.
The people don’t care and when they do, they more often than not, are ok with the religious privilege. Think private schools.
The ongoing power of religious groups is tied up with tradition and increasing embeddedness of religion in the key power structures of government, political parties and the media.
All of the best arguments in the world won’t matter while powerful people have a pro-religious agenda.
To remove religious privilege we must forget about winning arguments and think about winning power.
And if we want to win power we must motivate the people with a tribal pitch. A narrow pitch of a secular utopia won’t work. A pitch to the powerless against the powerful might work.
But it requires a salesman. A storyteller. Someone who can pull back the curtain and reveal the shitty wizard. And it will require tough times when people are hurting and are amenable to new ideas.
There will be no changes without tough times and a charismatic revolutionary.
You have heard the saying … Cometh the hour, cometh the man (or woman).
You need both.
Real power rests with either of the two major parties. The Liberals are beyond redemption. The Christian parasite has taken over the host. The ALP is still up for grabs. Join it and get some power while waiting for opportunity.
Secularism needs to take a leaf out of the Dominionism playbook.
Secularism needs to plant secular leaders in the Labor party and build power and be ready when the time is right.
Meanwhile … as we speak …
The left is strangling itself with identity politics and along the way has abandoned the working class and the importance of free speech. It has given up on left wing economic policies.
The right has maintained popular acceptance of low taxes and small government. It continues to fool Australians into thinking the coalition are the better economic managers. It relies on the Murdoch press and religious support. Enthusiastic Conservative Protestant Christians willingly adopt prosperity gospel doctrine in return for conservative moral laws and their end times theology helps them ignore the dangers of climate change.
Have I missed anything?
From episode 177
Besides bedroom issues, the two parties are the same.
Remember the quote from Chris Hedges? Well, of course,