Think about the various ways seeing and how expertise is allotted in our society and which point of view is given privilege of expression, employment, publicity and notoriety…

It matters because there does appear to be the collective wisdom to consider the impacts

New parent myself – but more importantly in light of the Syrian refugees placing their children in scary waters in the hope of providing their children a better life in Europe.

Because I don’t understand people’s obsession with sharing their usually boring lives and opinions.

It’s just strange that people disagree so much about this.

Because I wonder where ‘thought’ originates from and where our consciousness goes when we die. It matters because the greater awareness we have of ourselves the greater ability we have to improve ourselves.

I have a mental illness in a regional city. I had an episode of anger which I understand is due to acute anxiety, at my daughter’s school. Three years on, people still cower, there is gossip about me, that is of the effect that I am going to coffee shops to ‘meet’ and ‘pickup’ men, and that I am most interested in meeting married men. I am told I have to just move around and amongst the society, (by my psychologist) but I find it safer and apparently I am becoming more reclusive, to remain at home. I don’t condone aggressive behaviour. The school and my workplace, were trying to ‘support’ me, by having psychologists at the school, monitor my behaviour and have people behave ‘accordingly’. I began to feel I was living ‘The Truman Show’, and realise none of my interactions were authentic. Initially those people were being ‘kind’ but misguided, in supporting me, and I guess, my daughter. I have 3 years until she leaves school. I will go ‘somewhere else’. Michael Kirby has spoken of the chaplaincy program being a ‘front’ to filter through students of need/risk. I plod on. This stigma came into my new workplace. I plod on. Btw: this is not my paranoia. Underneath, I find it deeply alienating and distressing.

The flaws in our Australian law system, reflect the inequity on a world basis. If Australia, a relatively new country, that has a fresh start, is already in a conundrum with it’s inefficient and biased laws, then what hope is there for transparency and justice on a world level? To illustrate, I lent a friend $45,000 for a mutual project. They refused to pay it back, admitting they just spent it. We made a signed legal contract and I have a bank paper trail. Also, a witness who verified his actions signed an affidavit. Yet, this is not enough for me to retrieve my money or for them to go to jail. This person, continuously cons others with small amounts of money, so that legal fees make it unviable to retrieve the lost money. It is clear that I was conned and that they are thief, yet the justice system has no effective recompense for these serious situations. This person should be in jail and working to pay for my loan. I tried going to the local court and followed the procedure of a small claim. After the sheriff failed to find him, nothing could be done. This is a ludicrous system that fails to protect the vulnerable in our society.
I believe there is a long overdue overhaul of our justice system, which protects the unjust, provides extreme wealth to the judiciary and fails to facilitate justice.
I tried Legal Aid, etc and they were unable to assist me.
What do the great thinkers think?

I’m asking this question because it is, without doubt, something that most of us want to have happen, and I would like it to be both possible and to be brought about. However, I’m wondering if thinkers who have had more experience of life and of thinking, than I have, believe that it is actually possible. It matters to me because I see peace as enabling any person to experience a positively richer experience of life, and for this reason, I view it as being something that should matter to all of us.

How many times does this have to be asked?

I teach, research and write in this area. Children’s illustrations are often people’s first encounter with art.

It always surprises me how few Australians have seen their country or met people from other parts of it. If we were compelled to make better connections with people from different backgrounds and situations, would we have a better understanding of Australian-ness?

It concerns global warming and climate change. Others should care about it because it will be the end of the world if we don’t resolve the issue.