Latest Articles
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
Expiry Date
Get on, if you vant to live.
Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator II
There are many other words for Expiry Date, and even a symbol: Expiration Date (the worst), Use By Date, Best Before, Shelf Life, and as to the symbol, a little hourglass followed by the date. I began to reflect very soberly on these things the first time I made a casual examination of the items in my cupboard. Most foods and medication will give you up to two or three years. I’ve even speculated, with a wry smile, whether I would live that long.
Several things have contributed to my musings on senescence, and the scary rate of technological progress which is leaving many of the older generation behind. There has long been a focus on youth and progress, a treadmill we have all been desperate to keep pace with. Dignity and respect for the wisdom of the elders have gone by the board. The elders are now constrained to keep up, speak the language of the young, dumb down, dress like lamb, move-move-move,…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins
