ironic democracy

While Australian troops are still in Iraq supporting the movement towards 'democracy' - here, back in Australia, legislation is being proposed which will make dissent illegal, which will allow the government to detain people without charge or trial, which will inflict prison sentences upon those who reveal that they have been held, without charge and without trial, to their employers or their families.

It's ludicrous. It's my worst nightmare. I currently enjoy living in a country where the law is explicit, where I know what I can and can't do. I really, REALLY like this. It enables me to act sensibly and in accord with those around me. However, if the law is changed - if I can be held under suspicion, without reason, and I'm not allowed to tell anyone what is going on - for me this is chaos. This is hell. I suppose the legislators would argue that I am not likely to fall under suspicion, or get picked up, or do the wrong thing. But if you don't know for sure what the wrong thing is, how can you avoid it?

Where do my sympathies lie? With those who ask questions, with those who upset the status quo, with those who push boundaries, testing what is really necessary. I guess it's not going to kill me if I end up being held without charge for a fortnight, or having my movements restricted for a year. It's just not that likely that it would happen to me. It's the friggin' principle of the thing that freaks me out - we're in Iraq to establish justice (apparently), and yet we're allowing injustice, fear and secrecy to blossom here. It disgusts me.