Letters From Bruce

This transaction life, this transaction life The gap between satisfying necessity and what happens can be a source of frustration and anxiety. It is easy to lose ourselves. A life worth living can seem a bridge too far. To be happier we need to find a byway to equanimity. Altered states of America, altered states of America We are witnessing the wholesale destruction of democratic principles and institutions in the USA, energised by a politically cauterised citizenry seduced by the promise of baubles by a command autocrat. Black rain, black rain Black rain is about to flood the American moral fabric. Character will become an irrelevant quality in leadership at the level of the president of the United States if Trump ever succeeds in becoming president again. Eyes wide shut, eyes wide shut It is not anti-Semitic to peacefully protest against minority driven military anti-humanitarianism. It is anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic to malign anyone just for being who they are. A peaceful life, a peaceful life Benevolent stewardship in nation states is in retreat. Global goodwill is being overwritten by provincial patriotism. Might is right has become the prevailing mantra where the meek inherit the wind. The audacity of shame, the audacity of shame Australia has an international reputation as a lucky country. A welcoming homeland for anyone prepared to put their shoulder to the wheel and a safe place to escape harm. Every now and then this face of generosity is clouded by xenophobia. The age of reason, the age of reason The age of reason is under attack by sovereign citizens, junk science outliers, health quacks, merchants of civil unrest, religious zealots and purveyors of voodoo. It is one thing to respectfully agree to disagree without rancour or insult, quite another to respect anti-social ideology dressed up as "freedom of speech". Furthermore, uncritical acceptance of this presumed licence to fertilise hate, fear and manipulate credulity is a gateway to capitulation.