Instead of strengthening debate and providing more considered decision making, editor Lyndon Keane says narrow minds and differing perspectives are sending conversations of critical community importance down the toilet and diluting the clout of people power. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
When did the rulebook begin demanding anyone with opinions and experiences that differ from our own be branded an enemy and excoriated simply because they dare have a belief that opposes our own?
Long gone are the days of hearing someone’s differing perspective and considering it on its merits before determining whether it may be closer to reality than your own. In the age of social media, armies of keyboard warriors and nameless, faceless accounts are leading a raging battle in which vitriol and criticism are the ammunition, and anyone who doesn’t completely align with your ideologies the enemy. Leave independent thought, reasoning and common sense at the door, ladies and gentlemen, because this war is being fought by blinkered battalions hellbent on ensuring a my-way-or-the-highway mentality wins the day, rather than the overall betterment of our community.
Just look at the comments on any political story any media outlet runs to witness the war in action. Over the past week alone, I’ve been accused of being a communist, a Labor lover and a sycophant for the Liberal National Party, often by the same people, all depending on what mood they’re in, and how horribly they’ve misinterpreted the story they’re commenting on. This, of course, assumes they’ve actually read the story, not just the headline, before lobbing their nonsensical thought grenade. Most online commentary these days leaves you feeling like you’ve been lobotomised and in desperate need of hand sanitiser and a plunger.
Sadly, the divisive mindset has crept into life beyond the laptop. I was talking to a Canberra-based mate at the weekend, and I mentioned I supported Peter Dutton’s election promise to make the $7 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility permanent if the Coalition wins the battle of the ballot box later this year. My friend, who probably owns more red ties than any other 30-something in the country, gave a condescending laugh and said it was a stupid plan. When I pressed him for the basis of his assertion, it became clear he’d put a red line (see what I did there?) through the concept because the announcement came out of the Opposition Leader’s mouth. Had Anthony Albanese made an identical commitment, my mate would have been all over it like a fat kid on the last cupcake at a birthday party.
The problem is the ever-growing chasm is crippling us as a community and flushing any chance people power has of getting our elected leaders to take us seriously and give us the attention – and money – we need to succeed right down the toilet.
Its not just here on Cape York. It’s not even confined to state or national borders. You only have to look at the impact Donald Trump and his entourage of billionaire besties are having on intelligent, rational political discourse globally to see how rapidly the cistern is emptying. With a focus on division, our politicians don’t have to deliver for anyone other than themselves, their donors and fellow ideologists.
Cook MP David Kempton has admitted he is concerned it’s going to be “a real battle up here to make sure we get our share of the pie” in coming years. He’s not wrong, nor is he alone in his worry – he’s just the first of our elected leaders or candidates to stand up and say it. With our region representing just one state and one federal seat, we’re a political afterthought at the best of times, let alone when we’re baselessly arguing with one another while every available dollar gets thrown at south-east Queensland infrastructure to allow a few medals to be dished out in 2032.
If we aren’t united in identifying and championing the benefit of Cape York priorities to those holding the purse strings in Canberra and Brisbane, the disinterested absence of government funding for the region will be lost in the haze of online bickering, name calling and sanctimonious rage.
The easiest way to ignore us is to divide us. Perhaps we should consider that before we next prepare to fire a comment bomb at part of our Cape York family just because they don’t fly the same coloured political flag as us.
