A recent BBC magazine investigation has supposedly shown that Australia is the most sinful nation on earth topping a global tally of the seven deadly sins.
The more sensational media had a field day with the idea that Aussies are 'still' born to be bad, just like their convict ancestors
As the Herald Sun put it:
"AUSTRALIA is the most sinful nation on earth, as befits a country founded as a penal colony."
The analysis claimed that Americans are struggling with gluttony, South Africans the most wrathful, while Japanese and Koreans have the biggest problem with lust. Australians were found to be the most envious.
In truth the methodology of the survey was somewhat dubious. The tally was put together by comparing national statistics for plastic surgery (pride), theft (envy), violent crime (wrath), number of annual holidays (sloth), annual salary (greed), money spent on fast food (gluttony) and porn (lust). Apart from the 'pride' and 'lust' and 'wrath' measures, the connection between the 'sin' and the metric is fairly questionable.
Nevertheless I'm not going to let my compatriots off the hook that easily. The BBC's Focus Magazine awarded Australians the dubious prize of being “the most sinful nation on earth” for scoring highly in every one of the seven categories.
Taken as a whole these measures do tells us something troubling about Australian society. Like Americans (who were ranked second) we are very rich nation increasingly spending that wealth on ourselves and our own pleasures (plastic surgery, holidays, fast food, porn).
The words of Ecclesiastes 2 seem most apt at this point.
But I also wonder if the prophet Isaiah was alive today he'd say something like this?
Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights
FOUR CORNERS & THE DISABILITY CRISIS
This brings me to The Four Corners documentary, that looked at the Federal Government policies that are set to force the closure of the Kingsdene Special School run by Anglicare (Diocese of Sydney).
In my mind the journalist presented a powerful case that we are not doing enough as a community to help these most vulnerable of families.
The documentary was a study in how to tell a compelling news narrative without sensationalism.
If anything Four Corners has understated the difficulties facing families caring for children with severe and multiple disabilities. This is clear when you compare with Marie Claire treatment of the same issue which begins with the story of Anita Cain who was forced to 'dump' her child on DOCS.
Like many Australians, Anita Cain adjusted her clocks on April 1, 2006, to reflect the end of another Sydney summer. In Anita’s case, though, this was a task that had to be completed with military precision: her 11-year-old son, Niall, was born with a range of disabilities that included obsessive-compulsive behaviour - and timekeeping was one of his obsessions. After touring the house, the single mother of one was convinced she’d put back every timepiece, but had forgotten to adjust the spare watch Niall kept on his bedside table. When he noticed the next day, he lost control.
Infuriated, he clambered onto the stove top, sending glasses and mugs in all directions and, crying and screaming, began tearing at the kitchen clock. “He pulled the clock off the wall because it said a different time to his watch,” recalls Anita, who could only look on helplessly. “There was glass everywhere.”
As she stood in the wreckage of her kitchen, her son’s inconsolable wails filling the room, something in her snapped, and she came to a realisation that filled her with shame and guilt: she could no longer share a home with her son.
Finally, a ‘Save Kingsdene’ petition that will be delivered to Bill Shorten is being circulated. It can be found at [url=http://gopetition.com.au/online/33791.html]http://gopetition.com.au/online/33791.html[/url]
