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Mateship, Battlers & Egalitarian Words

(26.1.04)

'Mateship' (as we assies know it) has
disappeared under the current'tory style' conservative government.

Prime Minister Howard frequently
invokes the beloved cliche`
he's eased off lately on 'egalitarian'
taken the integrity from that word

his favourite of late is 'the battlers'
using those 'endearing' words
to bring him closer
more popular with voters
quite certain his 'palliative crawling'
will return him to power (when he decides
the date of the next election)

Which leaves me wondering

How much longer do we allow
ourselves to be beset by fear
of mosques and turbaned strangers
bullied and lied to over children
(never) thrown in the water
fooled into waging war
over non-existent 'weapons
of mass destruction' by a shifty
cold little Machiavellian man, posing
as everyone's good-guy, your friendly
dependable, power-walking, child-hugging
cricket-quoting, 1950's 'white-picket-fence' straight-talking man-next-door
'honest' John Howard

Pamela Sidney 2004
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