I didn't hold them to be an example of "progress", because I do not believe in cultural "progress", since it is impossible to define.
Labor party and gay marriage
- Thread starter Asguard
- Start date
I didn't hold them to be an example of "progress", because I do not believe in cultural "progress", since it is impossible to define.
Culture, at least, is the least important aspect of "progress" because it is the most difficult to measure.
I would define how advanced a civilization or society is by a) productivity b)structure c)technological sophistication d) stability
Cultural progress is too difficult to define to take it seriously; in your view, progress might be more freedom; in the view of a traditionalist, progress might be the protection or exaltation of tradition.
What party do you support, Asguard? Labor? Lib dem? Something else? Those are the only two I know of in Australia, anyway.
umm you have really fucked up then because you only got one right
The major parties (and larger minor parties) are:
The Australian Labor Party
The Liberal Party
The National Party (basically gun toting redneck members of the Liberal party, ok im being biased, it was origionally the farmers party but its strongly and mostly allied with the Libs though not always)
The Australian Democrats
The Australian Greens
Family First (even MORE rightwing than the Nats but with less guns and more God)
One Nation (The racist party)
Now we have a preferential voting system so the way i voted at the last election was (in the lower house):
Democrats
Greens
Labor
Libs
FF
One Nation
(im not in a country seat so no Nat candiate)
Basically in the lower house (with rare exceptions) once you hit either Labor or Liberal thats it but you do have to number every box so *shrug*
The major parties (and larger minor parties) are:
The Australian Labor Party
The Liberal Party
The National Party (basically gun toting redneck members of the Liberal party
, ok im being biased, it was origionally the farmers party but its strongly and mostly allied with the Libs though not always)The Australian Democrats
The Australian Greens
Family First (even MORE rightwing than the Nats but with less guns and more God)
One Nation (The racist party)
Now we have a preferential voting system so the way i voted at the last election was (in the lower house):
Democrats
Greens
Labor
Libs
FF
One Nation
(im not in a country seat so no Nat candiate)
Basically in the lower house (with rare exceptions) once you hit either Labor or Liberal thats it but you do have to number every box so *shrug*
It's the most important measure of progress in my opinion, because human happiness depends on it.
Who cares about productivity if people are enslaved? Who cares about structure if it is used to oppress? Who cares about technology if it is used to kill? Who cares about stability when the underprivileged have no opportunities to get an education, to become wealthy through their own efforts etc.?
Progress is a bad thing for traditionalists because it means change.
Yes, but for a traditionalist, that which will make them happy is the preservation and exaltation of their tradition and culture.
No, progress TO THEM is NOT change....that's the point. See above.
The Liberal Party (a centre-right party) was in government from 1996 through to 2007. Since 2008 we have had a Labor government (centre-left).
Australia is full of social democrats, just like everywhere else.
We have compulsory voting, so being apathetic is not an option we encourage.
No far left, far right?
Well, not in the US (conservative majority). But OK
Compulsory voting? What an interesting idea.
NOTE: This is way off topic so i will try to go through this in just this post, anything further then make a new thread and i will happerly discuss it with you
you never herd of Howard?
Only Labor or the Libs\Nats will win an election but that doesnt mean that the other parties dont effect legislation. For instance currently the senate is split up such that there are only a few ways federal Labor can get bills past:
Labor plus oposition (Libs\Nats)
Labor plus the greens AND and 2 out of Fielding (FF), Xenophon (independent), Joice (Nat leader with a history of crossing the floor)
(note this doesnt include "free votes" where the parties decide that there members will vote acording to there concionse (or what they are forced to by there electrotes) rather than along party lines which happens for bills like eutanasia legislation)
Now the current issue is that the oposition is incopitant and fragmented and its leader so weak that vertually ANY bill (including one to vary sitting hours if you could belive that) they opose. Normally its more coherant than this and bills do get past by goverment and oposition members>
However i dont know if you can see the issue with the minor party split, Xenophon is a wild card in any bill so put him aside and look at the other groups, specifically the Greens and FF. Greens WAY left, FF WAY right
This makes it hard to produce any bill which satifies both
Yes, such parties do exist. Their vote is so small as to be negligible.
The UK has a Labour government.
I understand, that is how it is almost everywhere; however in the UK, the BNP, a far-right party, has actually gotten significant votes (not enough to really win anything, but enough to stand out among third parties), as much as 10% of the vote in areas
Moderate, centrist politics are something I personally hate; no passion, no ideology, and it is treated as a game.
The UK is not the world; and the Conservative Party is one of the largest in the UK, anyway.
In the US the only reason the Dems won is because of the extreme opposition to Bush.
In Syria we have a left-wing government; Assad is a socialist,like you, but Syria is a mixed economy country (Government education, health, etc, but also private enterprise) and Syria is doing fairly well, middle-income and developing, and developed in many areas
I've always felt short changed that I wasn't at least bi, but you gotta play the hand you're dealt.
Before he can do anything about it?
Never had any gays hit on me even in predominantly gay areas like say, gay clubs. I guess I don't ping on the gadar. But if they did I'd think was a pretty fair compliment and just say no thanks. Its really not that complex.
Repression
It's a repressed homosexual impulse.
Maybe not the mark you think ....
James R said:
Swarm said:
It's a repressed homosexual impulse.
James R said:
Maybe not the mark you think ....
Like I said earlier, the only people who take gay issues personally are gays like BM and LA.
As much as I agree on principle and even try and support my friends in their struggle for equality, not being gay keeps me from ever having the same degree of personal concern that BM has as a gay man trying to never come out.
They know that if they let other gays lead normal lives that is one step closer to ...well I've never really been able to figure out what they are afraid of, but they sure are afraid.