I was asked this question recently when I was overseas in an ex-communist country.

There’s nothing like the power of questions to stimulate one to think and debate critical issues we face collectively as a country.

I’d been explaining all the new and proposed laws in Australia and the person asked me, “Are Australians closet communists”?

Before I could defend that and argue, “No way are Australians closet communists!

“I mean men and women have died in wars to prevent the spread of communism.

“It would be an insult to our dead soldiers and the greatest disrespect ever for Australians to be considered closet communists”.

Before I could scramble for a valid defence to the question, “Are Australians closet communists?”

He went on to say, “I bet most Australians and people in the West think we (people from ex-communist countries like Russia and China) are communists and that’s why we accepted communism, when it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“The majority of people in Russia and China believe in capitalism and free markets but communism was forced upon us.

“I don’t understand why Australians, who fought to maintain freedoms, now simply let them go without even a whimper let alone a fight.

“People died for the freedoms Australia once had.

“Are they so apathetic or overly trusting”?

He said, “If for instance, Australians accept the new laws by Australian intelligence agencies to allow any Australian’s email or phone calls to be spied on for last two years without permission, they are clearly accepting communism.

“Especially when it’s a choice and not forced upon by a military regime.

“Because the idea of spying on their own people is central to communism.

“If Australians allow the new media laws being proposed to effectively stop Gina Rinehart owning Fairfax, because she simply has opposing views to the government, that’s the cornerstone of how communism works; controlling the media. (Of course they would sell it as “in the nation’s best interest”)

“A government preventing valid criticism of them through new media laws is straight out of Communism 101”.

He then said, “Australia has compulsory voting. That’s not democracy it’s blatant communism. To be effectively forced to vote for two major parties many don’t like, under the illusion of choice… especially when your current Prime Minister was appointed by a communist faction (he was referring to the union factions that removed Rudd and replaced him with Gillard).

“You have so-called free elections; also called democracy. So how come the majority voted for the opposition party, yet the party with the minority was re-elected?

“Sounds like communism to me”, he said.

“Australians stand by and allow even their icons like Paul Hogan to be relentlessly pursued by their tax department for years; and even have his passport taken from him when he was visiting his dying mum in Sydney and prevented from leaving the country, despite the fact he sold Australia to the world.”

He said, “How can you even think you aren’t closet communists when it’s illegal for a group of people who ride motor bikes on a Sunday, to congregate together” (he was referring to the new bike laws in some states).

It was clear he knew a lot about Australia from an outsider’s viewpoint.

(It’s possible because ironically the education system is a much higher standard in these two ex-communist countries)

And it was clear Australia is being perceived as a nanny state.

He went on to say how bad it looked for Australia when the new mining tax was introduced, and that many mining companies now perceive Australia as not only a Sovereign Risk but more so than some African nations.

He said,”I bet Australians have no idea how bad they look to overseas investors.

“The carbon tax?

“How can it be about helping the environment when it’s all about taking money from companies and the economy and redistributing it to the people most likely to vote for the current party?

“Isn’t wealth distribution the corner stone of socialism (a nice word for communism)?”

It reminded me of when I was in a business deal in Malaysia a few years ago, deciding where to establish a new joint venture company. They were well aware Australia is one of the few countries who tax their citizens on worldwide income, not just what they earn in Australia; and of the high tax rates Australians are charged.

I had no chance to persuade them to establish the company in Australia.

They were wealthy individuals and laughed at the idea, which I must say was embarrassing and challenging because I’m a passionate Australian.

But perhaps we’re slightly blinded because we love our country and have become insular to some degree. When in fact many people overseas see us as very draconian.

It was somewhat frightening to be awoken to reality. How could I argue with the facts?

I could mount a useless argument that we have a lot of freedoms China and Russia don’t have like…

Umm…

Like…

We can access Facebook. The Chinese aren’t allowed.

He said, “Nonsense. That’s Western propaganda.

“Check Facebook next time you’re in China. There are millions of Chinese people using Facebook.”

(I did, and yes, Facebook was available in China and my Chinese friends confirmed, yes, they use Facebook happily)

And he said,”Russians have their own social network called ‘Vkontact’ that anyone can use freely.

He said,”China is angry at how Western Media make out the Chinese have few freedoms, when the Chinese actually enjoy ever increasing freedoms, improving every year, yet the Western world, particularly America and Australia, have rapidly declining freedoms but barely object.

“The Chinese government cares deeply for its people and goes to extraordinary lengths to maintain fairness and control. Albeit anyone running a country of 1.3 billion people would have issues

“It’s ironic that within 20 years Russia and China may well enjoy freedoms that the West no longer will. Almost a role reversal as the wealth transfers from the West so does the freedom.”

And the more I considered what he had to say about Australians being closet communists, the more I realised that perhaps the truth hurts.

Maybe we are overly complacent.

We take our past freedoms for granted and allow them to be bit by bit, ever so slowly and surely removed.

That it’s true we take for granted the freedoms men and women died in battle for, and we allow them to be removed from us without often even a protest.

We naively allow politicians to tell us they’re passing through new laws in the interest of the nation.

The spirit of the law is to do XYZ, which we all agree is good…

Yet little do we know we’re being sold a lie.

Anyone who knows the law, and the way the courts work, know that when a judge is forced to make a ruling in court he or she can’t ask, “Hmm… Was this the spirit of the law when it was originally put to the people and to the parliament”?

No. That becomes irrelevant as soon as the ink dries on the new law.

They have to rule on technicalities meaning innocent people are captured by the ill chosen law.

Not because the spirit of the law intended, but because the law doesn’t work based on what the spirit of the law intended,

Thus creating a gap where government bodies, such as the police force or the ATO or ASIC, can easily abuse their power and so freedoms of individual’s rights are trodden on.

Does this happen?

Of course.

How often?

Daily.

The challenge with many laws created is 99% (or the majority) are infringed upon and penalised because of the 1%.

Sometimes less.

Like the new spy agency laws that will enable the government to spy on everyone’s emails, phone calls and so on, for the last two years without permission.

Of course no one would accept that without a propaganda angle.

“Thus”, my friend from the ex communist country said, “The way communism worked is they sell things that seem to be in everyones’ interest.

“People think it makes sense. We have to stop terrorists from taking our freedoms away. Our way of life has to be protected.

“So Australians will agree to passing a law that removes many freedoms and degrades their way of life, out of fear of some distant so-called terrorist network living in caves in Afghanistan.

“And pass laws that then allow the government, by default, to abuse the power.

“At least in Australia you can object to new such laws.

“But”, he said.

“You watch…

“Hardly anyone will. And quietly a law will pass meaning the Government can now spy on anyone’s emails

“And what naive individuals think this won’t be abused and used against people those in Government departments wish to abuse”?

I must say it was an interesting conversation.

It made me ponder and think…

Are we becoming a so-called Nanny State?

Are we actually in fact becoming closet communists?

Are we the frog in the saucepan of water slowly boiling to death and not even realising it?

Are the freedoms of ex-communist countries rapidly improving while the freedoms of Western society, namely Australia and America, are rapidly decreasing?

Are we too trusting of big brother?

What do you think?

Or are we too busy trying to make a living that there’s little time to think about such crucial issues.

Or perhaps we feel there’s little we can do about it, so why even bother…

Jamie McIntyre is the founder of the 21st Century Group of companies and CEO of 21st Century Education. He is also bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, investor, sought after success coach, internationally renowned speaker and world-leading educator. www.jamiemcintyre.com

Jamie McIntyre is the founder of the 21st Century Group of companies and CEO of 21st Century Education. He is also bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, investor, sought after success coach, internationally renowned speaker and world-leading educator. http://www.jamiemcintyre.com

Author Bio: Jamie McIntyre is the founder of the 21st Century Group of companies and CEO of 21st Century Education. He is also bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, investor, sought after success coach, internationally renowned speaker and world-leading educator. www.jamiemcintyre.com

Category: World Affairs
Keywords: 21st century, Articles, Australia, Blog, communist, email, Government, laws, spy, spying