Democracy is dead.
Murdered by political, financial and religious ideology inflicted upon us by ‘leaders’ with closed minds who survive by divisively spreading fear and greed.
It is time for a new world order called THE COMMON GOOD to take over.
It will succeed when decent people, with brains, commonsense and courage, step forward and insist on dramatic and decisive changes in the opposite direction to the insanity of Donald Trump and the woeful wilderness of Australian politics.
THE COMMON GOOD is not new. It has been spoken of and advocated by great thinkers from the beginning of time, but too few world leaders have ever tried to take it up.
Abraham Lincoln went closest when he spoke eloquently of the government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’. However, he failed to mention the unfortunate manner in which ‘the people’ have greedily handled money.
The undeniable fact is that the greedy have always worked against THE COMMON GOOD and they will not easily give up that which they have plundered and hoarded.
Let me give an example of the problem.
The Chief Executive of every major corporation is expected by his shareholders to work only for them and to win at all costs. They want maximum profits, the largest possible dividend and the highest share price even if this means destroying their competition out in the market place by fair means or foul.
Sadly, this extends to employing the least number of workers that they can and paying them the lowest possible wages for working the longest possible hours in the most economical conditions.
This embraces also the people who are their suppliers. They screw them into the ground, pay the lowest possible prices and then use them as their bankers by not paying them for as many months as they can get away with.
The worst example of this is Supermarkets.
They tell farmers the miserable amount they intend to pay for their produce and, if the farmers say this is below their costs of production, they tell them to plough their crop into the ground.
To cap it off our top 100 companies pay the lowest possible tax and then demand a reduction on top of that by crying out for legislated tax cuts.
None of this fosters THE COMMON GOOD.
It does not even remotely occur to them that, if there was an honest marketplace in which all participants profited to some extent, this would be a marketplace in which they would actually profit more than by the dishonest trading circumstances that they have greedily manipulated right now.
What we need is a new corporate world in which those who chair companies are independent leaders of social respect and honour who have the leadership skills to demand from their CEO and staff that they follow a code of trading ethics that enhances humanity and generates a happy, peaceful and cohesive society in which they can make honest profits.
I can already hear some readers saying ‘Compton is at best a socialist and at worst a communist or even a trendy lefty’. But, these critics will be the closed mind guys with the highest greed factor in their lives and no ability to change even the toilet paper.
Let us be quite clear.
Communism was a disaster for the human race, a creed that simply created a different breed of clueless, vicious dictators who themselves lived like capitalists.
Socialism dwarfed initiative and fostered a culture in which too many felt they could get by without working too hard.
Capitalism is simply another way of spelling greed, while trade unionism is just another way of being greedy too.
Can we put all of those ridiculous ideologies behind us forever in the scrap book of history.
May we strive together with unstoppable vigour to create THE COMMON GOOD.
This does not mean the creation of a society of equals. That will never happen.
However, it does mean that we will stop striving ceaselessly to work only for the prosperity of NUMBER ONE.
It means that everything we do in life will be in progressive partnerships with others. There is no place in society for selfish loners.
It means that more and more of us will decide to work in not for profit corporations where we will get excellent salaries and wages, but no bonuses or dividends, and with all profits either being ploughed back into the growth of the business or given as grants to community institutions.
What I am really saying is that society can be upgraded by business leaders, not politicians. As an establishment, our political class has betrayed us badly and no longer has the trust of the voters of Australia.
A community of fair dinkum Aussies, led by a need breed of enlightened visionaries, can emerge in the business and financial sectors to assume the role of ethical leaders of the nation, thereby creating a peaceful social revolution that is long overdue.
My prayers are that religious leaders will also open up their minds and join the gentle upheaval that will create THE COMMON GOOD, a philosophy fostered by Jesus of Nazareth.
Yours at large
Everald Compton.
I invite you to buy my book THE MAN ON THE TWENTY DOLLAR NOTES which you can order by visiting my website everaldcompton.com and clicking on the book title. It is about the life of Flynn of the Inland, the last great Australian to live for THE COMMON GOOD.
If you would like to receive an email whenever I write an article please indicate opposite or on my website.
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Good morning Everald. Would you be available to talk to Graham about this? I have a pre-record spot available at 9.45 tomorrow or 10am on Wednesday.
Col
Col Clifford
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Southern Cross Austereo
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Hello Everald,
This is Bryan Gilmour who with Dennis Robinson and a bunch of enthusiastic laypersons began the first Regional Church in Queensland, where we attached a low fee Christian College, and together with other denominations established an Ecumenical College which also admits children of all faiths. Each of these were driven by a Christian principle, the golden rule, -“Do unto others what you hope others would do to you” – to reach a COMMON GOOD – or as Jesus said, let LOVE be the core virtue that sets the criteria of what we do TOGETHER in determining our values and attitudes towards ALL OTHERS. Yes the CHURCH (all denominations) is grossly at fault in over capitalizing its property with centres in every little community, rather than REGIONAL COMMUNITY CENTRES where they can work with other sectors of the COMMUNITY to build the COMMON GOOD. On the GOLD COAST a small group have established a COMPASSIONATE CITY thrust, where the GOLD COAST CITY COUNCIL have adopted the concept of becoming the first active COMPASSIONATE CITY in AUSTRALIA. This will reach to every sector of the community, where each grouping, – health, education, essential services, business, politics,faith groups, scientific exploration, etc will work together for the COMMON GOOD. I want to strongly endorse your plea for the whole COMMUNITY working together for the COMMON GOOD. On the Gold Coast a group called MAAG (Multifaith Advisory and Action Group) has been established for building better and stronger compassionate relationships between the respective faiths towards the COMMON GOOD. I want to endorse your concept of the COMMON GOOD across the whole society and where the political and economic leaders need to take a lead in identifying this concept to build a better AUSTRALIA and a better WORLD.
With great enthusiasm, Bryan Gilmour Past MODERATOR of the UNITING CHURCH in QUEENSLAND
THANK GOD for you are doing, Bryan.
After a profound leading from God, in March, 2016, I tried very hard to organise AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH PREVENTIONS for September 2017, for Wide Bay, to grow a template of measures to deal with the mulitiplicity of factors that are tearing down the health of the children and youth, I teach as a Supply Teacher, and their care-givers.
Dear Everald identified me as a …”visionary”…, and gave warm encouragement.
Sadly, nothing came of my persistent efforts, because I could not get around the ‘minders’ protecting the world. moral leaders I believe were meant to contribute.
BUT NOW THAT EFFORT HAS MORPHED INTO A PROJECT TO GROW WIDE BAY INTO ..’A TERRITORY OF 4 CITIES OF COMPASSION’.
I have received heart-warming help from certain individuals in the the USA, where the CHARTER OF COMPASSION ORIGINATED,
AND have begun to examine the STRATEGIC PLAN FOR AUSTRALIA THAT HAS BEEN PRODUCED, I think while I was having, and recovering from, a hip reconstruction.
To be brief, I have lost my key, local supporter, the former Mayor and Councillor, Chris. Loft, who was recently fired. A very solid Christian.
I have only just got back to teaching, and continue to recognise many of the issues that are hurting the education of the children and youth. And remain convinced about the solutions, as I wrote in an earlier email to Everald.
And to finish on positive note, a kind, older Christian, only last week, gave me a list of local church leaders who may also ‘catch the vision’, to literally rescue this region from its ‘basket -case’ condition.
Begging the question, ‘IS GOD LEADING THE CHURCH INTO HEALING MINISTRY WORTHY OF CHRIST, HIMSELF ?’ And collaborating with Local Government and Business, in the process—as per the UK , through such world, moral leaders such as Jamie Oliver ?
Kind regards,
Kevin.
Everald
An interesting commentary. I was reading an article the other day on the worlds happiest countries
.Denmark is one of them and it appears a part of their happiness comes from a high taxing system that enables the government to pay for education right up to university level . The people from Denmark gain a an understanding within their schooling of the benefits of enjoying work that is beneficial to the community and does not require excessive work hours to meet their objectives .
One factor that could go against your common good theory is if workers never reduced numbers to meet company costs it would eventually reduce the availability of jobs for a continuing expansion of international populations
Terry Bowring
Your summary is succinct and accurate Everald. It runs abreast of the well distributed verse relating to the demise of common sense.
You quote the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth : No words summarise your statement better than my personal favourite and benchmark : Jesus’ teaching from Mark Ch 10 v’s 43-45; in short “who ever will be great among you will be a servant to all”.
It seems “the common” has to hold the line, prepare for the worst and commit effort to belief in the best.
Thank you, again, Everald.
You have given us a provocative challenge in writing about THE COMMON GOOD.
In thinking, today, about the means of getting under ‘the radar’ of our leaders and other sceptics—there seems to me to be only two methods that will work—-clever humour and COMPASSION.
Both virtues that world religions value highly.
I would be grateful for any feedback from you and your readers about the value of an icon that may summarise what I am trying to detail about COMPASSION.
COMPASSION at the top of a tetrahedron, with the ‘legs’ of the prism labelled as follows where they end:
Leg One INVESTING TIME IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS
Leg Two: CARING FOR SELF AND OTHERS
Leg Three SHOWING INTEGRITY
My strong feeling is that my grandchildren are typical of a generation who have little or no ‘moral compass’, and whose lives are blighted by two factors, each in several ways:
ONE JUNK/FAST FOOD
TWO AN ADDICTION TO ‘SCREENS’
To the extent that I cannot influence them enough in family chores, reading quality literature, having vigorous outdoor play/exercise after school, and ‘looking out’ for others in their local community.
I contacted Stephen and Karen Biddulph, in my home State of Tasmania, about this enormous challenge, hoping that if the Schools of Education in our Universities cannot help through their graduates, that those successful writers would have some ideas to share.
I did not receive a reply.
SO IS THIS CURRENT GENERATION NOT ONLY NEEDED, SOMETIMES, TO SUPPORT FAMILIES FINANCIALLY, BUT TO PROVIDE MORAL EDUCATION, THROUGH SERVICE, AS WELL ?
Any responses would be appreciated.
Kevin.
Simple but profound, thanks Everald.