Morality under imperialism

I suspect that if Belinda had been a man this would have not happened. After all, can the sanctimonious Opposition put their hands on their heart and swear they have never done anything similar? Why for example is Wilson Tuckey known in some quarters as Iron Bar?

And get this. The Liberal leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is a chair sniffer who has the support of the majority of the Liberal MPs there. Presumably Nelson's high standards don't apply to him or them. Why not, Brendan?

And while we are talking about high standards, apparently it is OK to invade another country and kill Iraqis, all without fear of losing your preselection or ethics. But it is not OK to imbibe and shout at people. That's morality under imperialism for you.

Brendan Nelson has referred a photo of a six-year-old to the police. Will he also refer those Western leaders complicit in or responsible for the murder of innocent Iraqi children to the appropriate authorities for investigation?

The attack on binge drinking also fits in here. Studies show we actually drink less as a nation now than in previous generations. So we older Australians were the real binge drinkers.

But fear mongering serves a purpose. In the case of the alcopops tax and the binge drinking hype it is to raise a billion dollars in tax and to force young people entering adulthood and the workforce to accept their role as wage slaves.

Perhaps in light of Brendan Nelson's comments about high standards for politicians we should set up the latter day equivalent of the Inquisition for politicians.

Dear Member, have you ever sniffed a chair? Been drunk? Driven while intoxicated? Smoked marijuana? Had sex with someone you are not married to? Had gay sex?

Actually these or more subtle variations are the sorts of questions many public servants are subjected to when gaining security clearances. In that sense the Inquisition is already here. Now watch it spread, first to pollies and then to other workplaces.

This is the inexorable logic of the New Moralism of both Nelson and Rudd. It is the first step in the new McCarthyism's attempts to control dissent and free choice (to the extent it exists under capitalism) in the name of the profit system.

It's time for those of us who value freedom to fight back against the new McCarthyism.