ON the first day of Christmas 2012, primary school children were opening their countdown calendars, each number had a small chocolate under the day’s date. Innocent children full of anticipation also making lists for Santa Claus. All was well with the world.
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By the tenth day of Christmas some of these children arrived home from school fearful that the world was going to end, despite reassurances from their young mothers, doubt lingered, after all, they had seen it on an educational television program. In the same timeframe, this prediction was being reported as fact every day – morning, noon and night – in all forms of the electronic media.
By the 17th day on the eve of Christmas, worse was to come. Unexpectedly, I was shocked and angry to see our PM Julia Gillard on national TV, in front of the Australian flag looking very concerned proclaiming her sad duty to announce, yes, it was real, “the end of the world was nigh”. Never had a lie being presented as truth sounded so believable.
It was James Russell Lowell who wrote: “Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, in strife of truth and falsehood, for the good or evil side, then it is the brave man chooses, while cowards stand aside”.
Sadly, in many ways the world we knew has ended because there is no longer clear definition of right or wrong.
JUDITH LAW
GUNNEDAH