The Lucky Country

Ok, enough of the woe is me posts (for now LOL) On Blog This! they are giving people the opportunity to jump on their soapboxes about something they are passionate about for

Challege #45 - On The Soapbox

So I thought long and hard about this... There is so much that I could write about - MCN, miscarriage, being green, domestic abuse, stalking, children, scrapbooking, photography - oh the list could go on and on, but then I stopped and though.. Of the things there there happens to be one link with them all... That is that because of the country we live in we actually have the opportunity to get on our soap boxes and actually have a say!!!

So for my soapbox I wish to wax lyrical about the country we live in and just how lucky we are to be here!!!

And that country is Australia!! I know, I know, she has her faults.. she has a lot of galahs in politics at the moment but hey - we have the freedom to say that - Is anyone watching the news and seeing what is happening in Thailand because they dared to stand up and say something wasn't right about their government?? Imagine if we were over there - we would have no opportunity to speak out about things that concern us like we can here!!! We are oh so lucky and blessed to have a true freedom of speech like we do here in Australia!!



Oh and dare I say it but it may have been a mistake - time will only tell but we have avoided a great recession due to our government taking chances with their "handouts" I was watching Oprah today (I don't usually watch daytime TV, but was resting and snuggling and trying not to fall asleep LOL) and the effects of this global recession on the USA and everyday people and even celebrities is devastating!!! To think that someone who is a local celebrity on a $250k/PA US income can go from one day having a job and contract to the next walking out of the office with nothing because the company went bust is scary!!! We have had job losses here in Aust, we have and do have tough times, but we are so lucky that we had some kind of intervention that has stopped things getting so bad as they could have become!!! We really do live in a very lucky country and have a great opportunity to do things with our lives!!!

I mean, even getting an education, having a family, having a say, escaping abusive relationships, - in some countries these things are almost impossible to do...

We're currently having an over-exposure of Jessica Watson, but you know what, if she wasn't living in Australia her feat of sailing around the world solo at the age of 16 would have been nigh on impossible!!! There have been other children wanting to do the same and the courts of the country have stopped them - mind you she took off on her adventure with people saying it was foolhardy - but that's just it - we had the opportunity to actually say that - because we live in Australia!!!

So many things we take for granted.. So many things that we have day in and day out that are not available in other countries or to the same quality in other parts of the world.. the fact we can walk down the street wearing what we want, saying what we want (well within reason lol - no abusing police now guys!!!) We can even visit a Dr if we feel sick, we have hospitals, medicines, technology, we have a future, and we have a voice...

I think we should be saying "thankyou" so much more.. "Thankyou" to those who walked before us and broke the glass ceilings that allowed females in Australia to climb even higher, "thankyou" to those who gave their lives so we can live in freedom and "thankyou" to the many people who have fought hard in our courts and parliaments to in their own way make Australia the country it is today!!

Ok, stepping off the soapbox before the tomatoes are tossed LOL I know it's contentious to mention politics etc.. but as with freedom of speech - let your comments flow, be they good or bad.. the fact you can have your say is just another thing to be thankful for - we do live in a "lucky Country" :)