Structural inequality, duh.

This is the current internal debate I am struggling with as a student about to graduate and go out into the competitive and soul-crushing work force world. There is often this moral vs. wealth and success debate when thinking about the person I want to be and whether I can truly make an impact in this world. How can we break free from the ideals in place by our society and comfortably be ourselves without giving up certain parts of who we are and how we think?

I was once asked and gave a quick and definite answer. I have, however, wondered about my answer ever since.

Indigenous Australia needs to be associated with the cultural fabrication of daily life. Our landscape is baron of Indigenous indicators.This would make Australians and the rest of the work knowingly participate in Aboriginal culture daily. x

The rise of adult colouring books, the return of the 90’s and just us reaching for things that remind us of our childhood constantly, made me wonder if it was like this for previous generations too or are we trying to postpone adulthood and all that comes with it more than before? Are we longing for simpler times with everything developing so fast around us?

I’m annoyed by the illogical and racist emails that I receive from friends whose parents or grandparents came here as so called economic migrants or refugees. Ever since people like Pauline Hanson have come on the scene I’ve seen a change in our culture. I’m sure most Australians don’t want to live in a racist country.

afraid of touching the question

Democracy cannot thrive without transparency. Secrecy undermines grass roots participation in affairs that directly affect them.

I currently have a family member who is dying from cancer… and I recently had a friend who died prematurely. Our rituals are so brief. Other cultures morn for days, weeks and sometimes months in ritualistic ways. Is it the threat to economic functioning or is it truly better to just get on with it?

Our society professes to be concerned about animal welfare but sanctions very different treatment of animals according to their perceived utility and the vested interests that benefit from their use. The law as it stands reflects this contradiction. As a result millions of animals suffer routinely, whether it be for live export, domestic agricultural use, feral animal control, research or entertainment purposes. Not even companion animals are immune from suffering; treated as disposable property and with little or no restriction on their breeding and sale, hundreds of thousands are euthanased every year in Australia. All of this is both inhumane and dishonest. Either we believe in the humane treatment of animals or we don’t. If the latter, let’s be honest about it; if the former, we need significant legal change. A good start would be the creation of independent statutory bodies to administer and enforce animal welfare laws instead of the current primary industries departments with their conflicts of interest.

22 years of riding trains, not once have I stopped there. It only saves 5 minutes to skip it. Why does nearly every train skip it?

In many professions gender inequality is evident by the lack of female leadership at top levels. This is in part attributed to the divergence during mid career progression when women are likely to begin having families. Would the gender inequality debate be flipped on it’s head if men were the ones who got pregnant?