What Really is Worth Fighting For?

Years ago I started writing a book.  A simple book from a simple guy, to be fair.  It was to be called “Things I have Learned’ and the idea was to capture life’s lessons along the way.  Who knows, one day I might finish it, although as long as I am alive I’d hope I am still learning. 

One of the quotes I wrote down early was “If you think what you’re doing would make your granddad turn in his grave, it’s worth asking why.”

The thinking behind this lesson is that as a younger generation, at least younger than our grandparents, we are always pushing the boundaries of what is imaginable, possible, morally acceptable and economical.  Sometimes to great effect, other times with devastating consequences.

Try telling my grandfather that it was economically plausible, let along morally acceptable, for an MP to spend quarter of amillion dollars on travel in the first quarter of any year and he would have said, very politely, that we were bonkers, and reminded us that the chooks needed feeding if we wanted eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

Same for the so called ‘anti smacking’ legislation of a few years back, the ‘marriage equality’ legislation passed last week, and possibly even the selling of state owned assets (although he had blue blood in his veins).   Then  there would be negative gearing  of income for taxation purposes, borrowing scores of thousands of dollars to drive a car that has a European badge on it, or paying around 20% interest on HP or a credit card to have a 60” TV to watch global carnage on the news, in high definition 3D.

I suspect he wouldn’t be just turning in his grave – he may have just risen from the dead to help sort a few things out.  

None of this means he would have been right, or wrong.  It just means he would have thought about it.  And just because he did or didn’t agree doesn’t mean he would have fought (metaphorically speaking) for one side or the other in any debate.  But he did know what he believed. 

A lyric in the Green Day song 21 Guns sums up my thoughts: 

Do you know what’s worth fighting for?

When it’s not worth dying for?

Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?

"21 Guns" as written by Billie Joe/pritchard Armstrong
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, CHRYSALIS MUSIC GROUP, TINTORETTO MUSIC

It seems to me that in this age of wall to wall media driven infotainment, sometimes erroneously referred to as news, that most things while sensationalised, really are not worth getting uptight about.

That said, I do think it is important to take time to sit down and figure out what is important, really important, to you.  Figure out what you actually believe and why.  Figure out why you will spend time, money and effort on something.  Whether Edmund Burke said it or not, and there is some doubt that he did, there was never a truer word spoken than, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

For me it's about justice.  Not this crazy sense of self rights we claim, but true Justice.  Justice for victims and perpetrators of crime. Justice for parents and their children.  Justice for the homeless and for the high income earners.  

I intend to write quite a bit about justice and democracy but in short I believe true justice means giving something up to make sure there is a just outcome for all.  It is not like communism, and it is not necessarily social, political or economic equality, but it is fair.  It certainly is not the sense of retribution or punitive justice that is prevalent in our so called ‘developed civilisation’.  Equally it is not the hiding of criminals behind technicalities to stop them repaying to society their debt for wrongdoing.

It is up to those who can to promote justice and freedom for all, especially for those who can't do it for themselves.

Cheers!