Lift your eyes

I have reproduced an article worth reading. It concerns the politically correct 'cultural cringe' that some fanatical ideologues would have us translate into ruinous, self flagellating policies more akin to the misanthropic deep green philosophies of those who view the human inhabitants of this planet as a virus. Well I say 'let them eat grass'!

The Article:
Australia competes in a cruel world
 The Olympic Games; that fascinating time where our national self-image lives vicariously through the ultra-trained, superhuman endeavours of our athletes. Seconds of a televised race is all that it takes to transform us from mere mortals to espousing a collegiate affinity to a group who manifest in a pool of our own superhuman alter ego. Listening to James Magnussen or Emily Seebohm in their after race interviews, you see the pressure they feel to fulfill our goal is immense. We want to bask in their golden image, not the silver or bronze one.
 
 Like it or not, the Olympics is read as a global gauging station and at this stage our position has slipped. China's growth and advancement in their global status is now reflected in their sporting results, and it appears to be completely legitimate as opposed to the question marks of the past. Sporting prowess lives off the back of two essential attributes; talent and the excess economic resources to source and train talent to an internationally competitive level.
 
 Another issue that is pertinent about fair competition in a forum such as the Olympics, is that the results are an unambiguous representation of the reality of how the athletes rate. It is not clouded by rhetoric. You win because you are the best and any assertion otherwise is refuted by the replay. The world is super competitive and the difference between fame and anonymity is seconds or parts thereof. Wonderful bon mot and weeping excuses really do not matter in the end. Glory ultimately resides with the victor and the rest can please themselves.
 
 Economics however talks of fairness but generally favours the judicious cheat. The stakes are far too high to play by the rules so the world lives in a twilight zone of varying degrees of tolerance for a range of variant degrees of cheating.
 
 Other countries, virtually all, have quite prescriptive forms of protection of the national interest from foreign investment, in such seminal areas as agricultural land. However, we alone screech our righteous sermon that the national interest is a parochial anachronism to a congregation of one, ourselves. The same sermon is read with expectant intrigue by many other nations who would not in a blind fit make the same laws for themselves but are quite happy to take advantage of ours.
 
 We are scared to mention the word state-owned enterprise for fear that it will offend the State that owns the enterprise. Apparently we will fortuitously develop the clinical steel to deal with future disputes with that State. We can’t mention their name now but the Australian Taxation Office will have no problems hauling them into court later if required.
 
 There are no genuine free trade deals, there are bilateral and preferential trade deals euphemistically termed Free Trade Agreements. After our free trade deal with the US, is there really free trade between us? The US is about to pass a $1 trillion dollar farm support bill and that sounds awfully like subsidising farm production to me.
 
 So when global economics lines up on the blocks in its Speedos for the economic 4 x 100, and gets drug tested, then I will concede we have a fair race. When a country is starting in an outboard tinny, others are wearing flippers and we are stating that guilt will make them swim like us, then I have serious concern as to whether we are merely fooling ourselves.
 
 We should not be timid about stating the bleeding obvious about what we desire for Australians. We should not sanitise our own desires with some form of self-enforced, domestic political correctness. The Nationals have this peculiar notion that Australian farms should, as much as possible, be owned by Australians. Now let’s be honest, isn’t that the desire of every country? Why do I get a distinct sense of a reception of chardonnay embarrassment when I mention this about Australian farms, but that parochialism dissipates to a bipartisan position of no to the foreign purchase of residential homes?
 
 Australia has this peculiar habit of participating in a form of economic self- flagellation, as seen in no better form than our sole crusade with the carbon tax. It is always perplexing as to exactly who gives a toss about our desire to persecute ourselves or what global eco-moral attribute we think we have bequeathed from our loss