On the wider ramifications of the marriage equality debate
Adrian Jackson writes: Re. “Ramifications of marriage survey campaigns will outlive this government” (Thursday)
The conservative authors of a rear guard parliamentary bill on SSM which they claimed will “protect” religion should remember that in the Army rear guards often get destroyed. Religion has nothing to do with SSM as marriage is simply a legal contract signed between the couple which increasingly do not occur in a church anyway.
A ceremony in a church with the priests hocus pocus is just that, but the marriage is not legal until the government contract is signed in the back room of the church. In my suburb all but one of once five churches have closed and 30%, and growing, of Australians have no religion. In a few decades Australia will be 50% or more religion free. Now we need to get religious books out of our courts for swearing in a witness, cease prays in parliament and stop compulsory church parades in the ADF.
On Russian involvement in US politics
John Richardson writes: Re. “Razer: oh, those anti-Russians …” (Thursday)
It seems Russia is not content to sit back and allow the sordid US political malaise to destroy its public reputation
In a clever tongue-in-cheek parody, Kremlin-funded broadcaster RT has mounted a masterful advertising campaign in the London Metro suggesting that commuters should ‘blame’ Russia if they miss a train or experience a range of life’s many trivial mishaps served-up on a daily basis.
Well John, we supposedly live in a globalised world where capital, goods, services, investments and corporate business deals flow across borders. So if RT has a service it wishes to advertise, what is wrong with that? I agree with your “clever tongue-in-cheek parody”, but is the “Kremlin-funded” really necessary? Will you in the future prefix any references to our ABC and SBS as “Canberra-funded”?
Australians and especially children need protection from religion.
The sooner the public sphere is cleansed of all religious impositions & influence the better.
We need freedom from religion. Let the deluded keep their nonsense in house.