Easter, Anzac Day and Our Political Process

Anglican minister and social activist Father Rod Bower was recently profiled in the Sydney Morning Herald. In it, he made the distinction between order and justice (in that instance in relation to the handling of sexual abuse in the Church).

This article comes at a heady time: just before Easter and then Anzac Day and between a state election and a federal election. When one considers all these events and thinks beyond the extended holiday and the seeming dreariness of continual voting, we can see that what we need in all these examples is justice over order. Order is making everything appear alright whereas justice is ensuring that it is alright.

Both Easter and Anzac Day are in their essence about justice. Justice for the oppressed, the dispossessed, the downtrodden, the maligned, the persecuted and the marginalised. We celebrate these events because we believe something right happened for the betterment of the world.

Would it not also be great to celebrate the political process? Unfortunately, society has become cynical about the very important selection of who will lead our country, state or council. Given the current abusive talkfest it is easy to see why. The main aim of these politicians is to make one believe that if they are elected there will be financial stability, sound healthcare, accessible education i.e. order. But what of justice?

What we should be demanding of our politicians at every level is justice. It is only the delivery of justice that will ensure a truly prosperous society. If we only have order, without justice, we are left with tyranny.

It is with some irony I note that Rod Bower is standing for the Senate at the forthcoming federal election as an independent.

Deputy Mayor Tony Wallace

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