On objectionable leaders and sensible SSM votes

I CANNOT resist it.

I promised myself that I would never mention Donald Trump ever again. I’ve kept that promise to myself for about three weeks but I can’t keep it any longer. This man is a total and complete idiot, totally unsuited in any measurable way to the task the US people have placed before him.

Trump; an arse to a tee. He must surely be the most dangerous, most objectionable leader in the history of objectionable leaders with, perhaps, the exception of Mr Hitler and like-minded disgraceful dictators. This is a bloke you would have to reject as the leader of a third-class American Football team and ban him from ever tweeting anybody ever again. He has to go; he’s a dangerous disgrace to all decent Americans and most other people as well.

There is an American news and opinion monthly called The Atlantic.com that this month carries a superb anti-Trump feature story, well worth a read by anyone with lingering doubts about the Trump phenomenon. Please, please don’t even attempt to read it if you have any Trump-like empathies.

So that’s perhaps enough said by me; I’ve rarely felt so anti-anybody as I do with this man. You have probably deduced that already.

I shall turn to something much nicer and much more constructive. I am writing this just a couple of hours after the results of the same-sex marriage vote were announced. They seem to be fair dinkum and, I must say, largely unsurprising.

I don’t find it easy to make very constructive observations in the absence of any detailed commentaries on the legal and flow-on effects of this highly enlightening view of our modern society. What seems obvious to me is that it is of little consequence whether same-sex couples choose to refer to themselves as “married” as long as the legal and social implications given to them do NOT impose on the freedoms and rights of conventionally married couples of different gender.

If same-sex couples wish to express their love for each other by declaring themselves to be married (with the element of permanency implied by that) then good on ’em. They might even be able to teach conventionally married couples a thing or two about loyalty and commitment to their partners ........

So in my view the outcome from the recent vote, assuming our pollies do the right thing, is sensible, non-threatening and the basis for happiness for those who want to get on with their lives.

Our modern world has much greater challenges than what we choose to call the person dearest to us. However the surrounding legalities of this massive change are vital and far from obvious ...... It will all take time, patience and “forgiveness” ........

And finally, I THINK I am still a dual citizen. My family and I were born in England and became permanent residents of Australia in August 1971. We were granted Australian Citizenship in the early 1980s but our British Citizenship was not “removed”. I think that is still the position .....

I have not the slightest intention of ever trying to become a Member of Parliament. Our commitment to Australia is absolute and has been since the day we arrived.

It took my brother about four years to come to the conclusion I was serious and we had not simply come to Australia for a holiday. He eventually got the message and now vigorously supports Australia, except when it is playing cricket against the Poms. But, then, we must not forget that they need all the support they can muster so I do not begrudge him his reluctance to surrender completely.

I hope that we, Oz, don’t stuff up over the next few weeks ... His gloating would be too much to bear ......