Australia is in full election mode. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the poll for 21 August just last Saturday. Now the airwaves are full of bickering leaders and freshly-kissed babies. If we need more serious content, we can watch PM hopeful Tony Abbott judge talent competitions on Channel Nine. Apparently songstress Kylie Minogue got through, but dogs dancing in tutus got the gong.
This is the stuff of which nations are built.
To help us better understand the policies of each leader, one national debate has been called for this Sunday evening. Then we’ll hear the promises and policies of the Labor and Liberal leaders. Gillard’s promise to clamp down on population growth goes head-to-head with Tony Abbot’s call for billions of dollars of savings. Finally - substance!
Yet before we rush to embrace this vision of democracy in action, there’s been a fly in the soup. A real big, popular, crowd-pleasing fly in the soup.
Channel Ten is now home to one of the highest ranked shows in television history. “Master Chef” is a reality competition program where aspiring cooks compete for the ultimate prize - adoration from millions of strangers and gushing acceptance on broadcast television. (Amazingly in a USA survey, high school students were asked how they would fund their retirement - 50% said with the winnings of a reality TV show.)
But here’s the conundrum. “Master Chef” is on at 7:30 pm and that’s the time the debate was scheduled. What to do? National politics and the future of Australia, or the conclusion of a cook-off?
To satisfy the national appetite, the debate time has been changed. So now we can have our debate and eat it too.
In the last two thousand years so much has changed, and yet so little. Saturday I watched “Gladiator” again and am reminded of the Roman senator’s comments as Russell Crowe prepared for a nation-winning battle:
“I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they’ll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they’ll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it’s the sand of the coliseum. He’ll bring them death - and they will love him for it.” - The Gladiator
In two thousand years what’s changed? Perhaps now it isn’t “bring them death” but instead “bring them death by chocolate.”
