Source of frustration
IT has become a source of frustration, to myself and other like minded people, that any thinking contrary to that of the current incumbent government by Labor or the Greens is a product of their ‘leftist ideals’.
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Why is this a source of frustration? Because no one on the real left believes that the problems and challenges that face societies on the planet today will not be addressed by the capitalist system.
This is at odds with both current Labor and Green philosophies. We on the left see that the root cause of the ills of our society is the capitalist system, where one per cent of the richest people in the world own more than the rest of the 99 per cent of us.
In Australia, an Australian Council of Social Service study found that the income of the top 20 per cent increased by 28 per cent compared to just three per cent for the rest of the population from 2004 to 2012.
The capitalist system promotes this inequality, that is in its DNA.
There are more slaves in the world today than at anytime in human history.
We spend trillions of dollars on warfare but find an argument against realistic funding of education, aged care and health.
Thomas Paine wrote in the 18th century that ‘taxes are not raised to carry on wars, but wars are raised to carry on taxes’.
Our illegal invasion into Iraq is what has caused the terrorist acts we see and are appalled by today.
I say ‘we’ because if the last election proved one thing it was that people will vote to preserve the status quo and that’s exactly what the major parties will deliver.
The capitalist system is corporate governance, nothing more. The $100-billion dollar stashed away in tax havens by the rich has hardly raised a whimper by the masses.
If you have a parent in a nursing home or a child in hospital, these corporations are stealing money that should be going towards your loved one’s care.
So don’t complain about the same old things you did before the election, because if you vote for the system, don’t be surprised if that’s what you get.
Paine also said that ‘the long habit of not thinking a thing is wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right’ and therein lies the problem of the system people so blindly vote for. They have lost sight of and will to look for any alternative and are therefore enslaved to it, and worse, enslaving the future generations to it.
WILLIAM McILWAIN
Minyip
Much more polite
IT is exciting that Lucy Stephan will compete in Rio.
However, in the article on the front page of the Mail-Times (July 29), she was repeatedly referred to as ‘Stephan’ and not ‘Lucy’.
That is so rude. In another story, about Matt De Gruchy, he was referred to as ‘Mr’. So much more polite.
CYNTHIA PETERSON
Vectis
Dental health week
CHILDREN, families and staff at early childhood services around Ararat and Stawell are getting excited about dental health week
This year, dental health week is focusing on women and oral health.
Dental Health Services Victoria supports the Australian Dental Association’s campaign, which runs from August 1 to 7.
Through the Smiles 4 Miles program, early childhood services are spreading the message about the importance of good oral health habits for the whole family.
To mark dental health week, the early childhood community in Ararat will learn about oral health, with students participating in activities and visits from East Grampians Health Service’s oral health therapist Lauren Miller.
Ms Miller will help educate children on the benefits of good oral health and teach children how to brush their teeth properly.
The Smiles 4 Miles program is implemented locally by Grampians Pyrenees Primary Care Partnership.
The aim is to improve the oral health of preschool aged children and their families in the Grampians-Pyrenees catchment by encouraging healthy eating, healthy drinking and good oral hygiene. We know that good oral health is essential to your overall health and wellbeing and we also know that good habits are learned early in life.
That’s why it’s great to have an oral health therapist visiting early childhood centres to further educate them on the importance of good oral health. If you would like more information on the Smiles 4 Miles program phone 5352 6204 or email pcphp@grampainscommunityhealth.org.au
LAUREN DEMPSEY
Smiles 4 Miles Co-ordinator
Worth protecting
WE have seen articles and letters from a landowner who is in the invidious position of having a four-lane freeway built through her property as part of the Western Highway duplication at Ararat.
She has our sympathy. We are cognisant of reports she has commissioned.
However, after receiving advice from our own highly respected environmental experts, we have formed the view that no option in the Mount Langi Ghiran area is at all suitable for the large construction VicRoads has in mind.
The whole area is unique and worth protecting. What was VicRoads thinking? We have asked that engineers leave the current highway as is in that area, with some safety treatments only.
With suitable signage, travellers will come to appreciate that a slower speed and driving more carefully is worth it for the sake of saving the wonderfully unique vegetation and the fauna it supports.
HELEN LEWERS
Western Highway Alternative Mindsets