What are your thoughts on hatred and its impact on both ourselves and our politics?
I vividly recall a moment from 2016, during the opening session of Parliament, which struck me as both perplexing and ironic. There they were, our elected officials, gathered for a solemn church service, their faces glowing with false piety. Yet, how quickly the atmosphere shifted! Barely a day later, they transformed into fierce gladiators in the arena of politics, hurling barbed words at each other in Question Time, their voices dripping with venom. It was a striking spectacle, a sharp contrast between a facade of unity and the reality of hostility that unfolded before our very eyes.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” proclaimed the Prime Minister of the day, invoking a powerful phrase from Holy Scripture. This timeless wisdom, often credited to Jesus but actually predating the Bible, carries a depth of meaning that’s frequently overlooked.
The hypocrisy cloaked in the guise of noble ideals is genuinely remarkable. In the turbulent arena of politics, venomous hatred often finds a vigorous pulse, while an unsettling current of animosity courses through the discourse. It begs the question: Is today’s political landscape marred by even greater division and malice than those tumultuous earlier eras? The shadows of contention loom large, casting a pall over the once hopeful aspirations for unity.
John Howard had his haters, mainly because he decided to back Born-Again Christian, George W Bush, in an illegal war. Spurred on by a hateful media, Julia Gillard was loathed by many because of a perceived lie: “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.” When people hate politicians, they do so with malevolent intent. The electorate’s dislike of Tony Abbott turned to a blistering hatred in less than two years. And so, it was with Peter Dutton in 2025.
Hate often casts a twisted allure upon those who traverse the realms of unthinking ignorance and misinformation. It emerges from a deep-seated trepidation, a gnawing fear of the unknown and the misunderstood. This phenomenon is starkly evident in the fervent crowds drawn to the likes of Bolt, Jones, Hadley, and others, whose words ignite fires of rage and resentment. Similarly, when the Murdoch empire unfurls its banner of contempt, it does so with a repugnant flourish, splattering its front pages with the grotesque and abhorrent visage of division and disdain. This tableau vividly encapsulates the ugliness of a society gripped by fear and hostility.
Hate resides deep within the human spirit, lurking beneath the surface and revealing itself in varying intensities across the spectrum of life – be it in the charged arenas of politics, the competitive realms of sport, the pangs of jealousy, or the divides carved by race, religion, and culture. It seeps into our relationships, too, serving as an outward expression of the inner turmoil we all contend with, showcasing our imperfections and vulnerabilities.
This emotion also finds expression in the realm of leadership, where the conduct of those in power mirrors the choices they make. Throughout history, figures like Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot unleashed their formidable hatred in a horrifying display of brutality – grotesque acts that left indelible scars on humanity. Then, a leader like Trump arrives, introducing a different brand of hatred, one steeped in narcissism and characterised by a relentless stream of falsehoods. This modern manifestation of hate, cloaked in a veneer of bravado, shifts the landscape of leadership, revealing the darker sides of ambition and power.
Within each of us lies the potential for unexpected darkness. Imagine an athlete or a fan, caught in a heated moment, suddenly spewing a venomous racial slur – words that seem jarringly incongruous with their usual demeanour. It’s as if a switch flips, and in a heartbeat, their thoughts are clouded by a haze of hate. Often, they struggle to grasp the roots of this outburst, wrestling with a hatred fuelled by ignorance – a feeling they fear, a concept that feels utterly alien. This visceral reaction emerges from the depths of their psyche, revealing the troubling reality that we all have shadows waiting to be confronted.
Hatred is merely fear stripped of the armour of courage, intertwined with an unwillingness to forgive. It represents a struggle to grapple with past wounds and the scars left by loss. Hate is not an innate trait; it’s either learned or absorbed, like a shadow passed down through generations. These deep-seated prejudices become an inheritance, handed from one generation to the next, shaping perceptions and attitudes like an unyielding current in a river.
Fear goes immediately to blame, and from blame, a desire for vindication or revenge that manifests itself in hatred.
Every day of the Abbott Government, and since then, a sense of loathing has developed in our politics and our society. On gaining power Tony Abbott and his government showed a hatred for all things Labor that surpassed the usual transitional norm.
At the launch of the Paul Kelly book, Triumph and Demise, in which he expressed the view that our democracy was in trouble.
In Opposition, Tony Abbott made it abundantly clear that he was there to oppose everything, and that’s precisely what he did.
And he did so with combative belligerence, often using sexism as a means of degrading his opponent. He created a shock and awe mentality of a government out of control. His loathing of a female Prime Minister transferred into misogyny. The media said he was the most successful Opposition Leader the country had ever had. A strange way to measure success based on hate.
His Prime Ministership began with a determination to impose his born-to-rule neoconservative ideology on the electorate.
Abbott instigated a Royal Commission into Labor’s Home Installation Program based more on a hatred of Labor, than a desire for truth.
An unprecedented decision to release cabinet documents as evidence in the commission showed just how far he was prepared to allow his hatred to go.
Then, an orchestrated campaign of hatred in tandem with Murdoch was launched against the ABC.
Their hatred for asylum seekers was and is well known. They have been demonising them for many years. The High Court’s decision that it was legal to hold people in offshore detention confirms their hatred. Only people with hate in their hearts would want the right to keep men, women, and children, who are innocent of any crime, in detention for the rest of their lives.
When Turnbull used the term “intellectual compassion” in one of his first interviews on coming to power, I, for a fleeting moment, thought we had a man of principle.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” he said at the church service.
The hypocrisy is deafening.
They hate people who are concerned about climate change and want to do something about it, labelling them as alarmists, dismissing science as superfluous to the debate. Turnbull’s hypocrisy on this issue was stunning.
Yes, they hate science if it transgresses the corporation’s capitalistic agenda. The right to profit from pollution, no matter the harm it does.
If ever one wanted evidence of this government’s hatred of the poor and middle classes, one only has to cast one’s mind back to the 2014 budget.
Ross Gittens put it this way:
“The first and biggest reason the government is having to modify or abandon so many of its measures is the budget’s blatant unfairness. In 40 years of budget-watching, I’ve seen plenty of unfair budgets, but never one as bad as this.”
To embrace hatred with unwavering certainty necessitates an alarming ability to deceive with unyielding confidence, transforming language to the point where it barely resembles English.
No one has embodied this insincere conviction more vividly than former Prime Minister Abbott. As someone who professes to follow Christian teachings, he ought to understand the fundamental truth that nothing virtuous can emerge from a foundation built on animosity.
His successor, Malcolm Turnbull, also a practising Christian, unveiled a staggering degree of hypocrisy that is truly unparalleled among Australian political figures.
This government has displayed a remarkable disregard for the common good, a thoughtlessness that transcends any measured critique. Their words drip with disdain, and the roots of their animosity lie hidden behind what appears to be a welcoming smile.
Those on the left of politics, the progressive social democrats who believe in change for the better, are concerned with people who cannot help themselves. The right, the conservative privileged elitists, are concerned with those who can.
A decade or so has passed since those times. Rudd and others never reduced the anger within.
Will Albo do so?
My thought for the day
The rise of narcissism and inequality and the demise of compassion illustrate the state of the world.
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Politically perverted religious superstitious insanity is killing civilised behaviour, decency, discourse, social balance. Much murder, theft, insincerity, wildness, comes from brainless assertion. Political leaders, not driven by kindness, but more by vanity and posing, are ruining life for masses of worthy and needy people. Can we stop this? I hate this, would eliminate some, but cannot.
We’ve been in this toxic environment since Howard in 1996 then reinforced with Abbott from 2013.
Hatred and stupidity seem to go hand in hand with the right wing of politics.
The politically contrived conflict both physical and verbal is to keep the publics mind off the poor governance of their country. Democracies blame dictatorships, Capitalists blame Communist’s, in fact politicians blame any one and every one to cover their failures!!
Enter the media who love conflict be it real of contrived, because it sells copy, is it true, exaggerated or a straight out lie? Who cares , it turn a dollar?
Thanks, John
I thought it was interesting this morning to hear on the news that Trump had reacted violently to being reminded of comments made in 1987 by 40th President Ronald Reagan on the subject of trade wars and in particular the detrimental impacts of tariffs.
Canada had brought these words to the notice of President Trump and the American people to bring back some balance to the discussion over trade in various parts of the world, in particular their neck of the woods and the lavish use of tariffs by the Trumper.
Reagan had noted back in 1987, when confronting Japan over unfair semiconductor practices – that protectionism might seem patriotic at first, but it “hurts every American worker and consumer” in the long run.
It’s a simple fact of economics but one that Trump doesn’t want to be reminded of, certainly not coming from his political hero and mentor, Ronald Reagan. The odd thing however, is that rather than come out with robust arguments to support and defend his policies, he sought to deny history and react with punitive measures against Canada and ongoing trade talks – he cancelled them just as he sees fit to cancel history.
I frequently, in recent times refer to the character Winston Smith in Orwell’s 1984 who, you will recall worked in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to rewrite historical documents so that they match the continually shifting party line. He was in fact changing history as and when truth and the facts became inconvenient.
Well, Winston would be flat out like a one-armed wall paper hanger this morning!
heather nails it: it was the Lying Rodent who started this trend in Australian politics, and the LNP and PHON have been ratcheting it up ever since.
As for LJH himself, I don’t hate him – the main emotion he evokes is contempt; he truly is “Little” Johnny Howard – no depth, no breadth, no warmth, no compassion, no understanding. A narrow, small-minded unimaginative creature who should have remained a political nonentity.
Orwell’s 1984 looks like becoming the politicians Bible, authoritarianism is spreading across our world. And, yes history is being rewritten and i Trump’s case created!!
Civil unrest is on the increase and in some countries turned to violence, hence the increase in authoritarianism (control).
Sadly, it has been a long time coming and our elected leaders have chosen to look the other way.
One of your best pieces of writing, we should all read and never forget.
Good to see you in print, lord!
Whilst hate has lost its meaning(although I hate aioli my bias says the lying rodents, the rabbotts and the media misused the word into weakness) malevolent hasn’t, with trump’s jan 5 crowd a prime example?
Tragically, the concept of ‘woke’ has been debased to the level where now caring and empathy is weak and feared by conservatives.
Narcissism is just over the love yourself we teach our children.
Xstianity has always been a bastian of homophobia, sexism and racism. The law will be shocked by the revelations exposing the depth of male institutional support for the xstian trifecta which will be exposed by the investigations for the class action
ps
funny that there are 4 jesuit schools in Aust and the rabbott, his joey, the french submarines anti-SA Unions idiot plus shorten and the fat homophobe bullock, who got pratt dropped, are all jesuit graduates.
Terry and others. I happen to, because a sight problem, to be listening to 1984 and yes it is rather frightening.
Thanks for the compliment David.
Ledge. The truth hurts as they say.
Heather. So very true.
Jonangel. Yes l have to agree.