Two capable and determined contestants. One monumental battle. The competition will be fierce, and the stakes will be high. But there can only be one winner. Who will it be? Sorry, but lest you think I am referring to tonight’s debate between our two political leaders, you are mistaken.
I refer of course to the season finale on MasterChef! I jest, but only to some extent. Two big contests are on tonight, but which one is the most important to most Australians? The answer to that question will tell us something about the Australian people. I suspect that way more people will tune in to the MasterChef battle than the Federal election debate.
Indeed, most of you would be aware that Julia insisted that the debate be moved an hour earlier in order to not clash with the MC final! Of course a political debate is not always the highlight of one’s weekend viewing. But the fact that it seems that more people would rather watch a cooking contest than a debate which may determine who rules our country is revealing, to say the least.
Don’t get me wrong. To be honest, I too probably look forward more to the MC battle than to the election debate. And for what it is worth, I here give my vote in both contests: As to the first, go Tony! As to the second, go Caldam! (if you get my drift).
I am certainly partial regarding the first contest, but can probably go either way with the second. But it still amazes me that Australian culture (like all of Western culture) can get more excited about a cook off than a debate which will impact every one of us.
The dumbing down of Western culture continues apace. Of course I realise that some people may think there is not much to choose from between these two leaders. I will soon offer some more articles about all this, but there clearly are some major differences between Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott.
And there are some major differences between the two main political parties as well. But with Julia seeking to position herself as conservatively as possible in order to win the election, many people may not see much difference here between the two candidates.
Also, many voters may rightly be a bit cynical. Politicians tend to tell people what they want to hear, instead of what they need to hear (sort of like many religious leaders as well!). So they know this debate will be filled with plenty of platitudes, clichés and empty rhetoric.
True, these debates are not what they used to be, and spin and image tends to take precedence over content and reality. But still, despite all the games our pollies play, and all the empty sloganeering, the choice of whether a Liberal/National or a Labor/Green government comes into power is quite real and quite important indeed.
But regardless of the ramifications of who gets into power, I assume there will be far more people tuning into the MC final than the debate. It is often said that a people get the government they deserve. If tonight’s television viewing preferences are anything to go by, then we may well be in for more bad government.
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