Political Speech & Politics
I have a lot of trouble sometimes with Margo Kingston’s rhetoric, as she tends towards invective sometimes, and even the unquestioning acceptance of allegation as evidence, but now and then I get a snippet from one of her pieces that I find useful, like this quote from Robert Menzies, Prime Minister during World War II: “If the individual . . . neglects politics – except as a means of obtaining some selfish end – then the people will at times of crisis be dumb and impotent, and despotic rulers will make war.” This is as much an explanation of how fascist governments rose to power in Europe fifty years ago as it is of how America got into Iraq following September 11. Too few cared enough to vote in 2000 to make the difference the country needed, so in the country’s time of crisis, we went to war to suit the needs of a selfish man. Australia and the U.S. could use another Menzies.