RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Monday, October 16, 2023

Good morning ,

The papers are full of post-mortems about the referendum, so I won't add to these discussions. But there is the issue of what it means for any future referenda. Is Australia condemned to be a 'frozen continent', with a constitution forever stuck in the past, an era when travelling to a neighouring suburb was by horse-and-buggy and going to the 'Mother Country' was by steamship? Surely not. The constitution is a serviceable document but like all legal documents, it can and should be improved.

I think you will know that I am deputy chair of the Australian Republic Movement. The ARM believes Australia would benefit from updating our governing system by once and for all severing ties with the British aristocracy and institutionalising an Australian as a full-time Head of State who lives here in Australia. Someone who can meet on equal terms with other countries' heads of state. Someone who can embody the best of what this country can be and be a guardian of our democracy. 

For those of you who happen to live in Victoria, elections to the Victorian ARM branch council are being held this week. If you are an ARM member, may I urge you to vote for David Keogh? David has just joined the RSA board and I can highly recommend him as an accomplished leader with experience as a CEO and COO in Australia and the US, (but? and?) is a really nice person with great values who has spent years in social impact organisations. Check out his impressive CV attached. 

Lead stories

This report is worrying but unsurprising - nearly half (45%) of Australians say the nation is more divided today than in the past; the 'rich and powerful' are seen as the most divisive force (by 72%), followed by hostile foreign govt's (69%), journalists (51%) and govt leaders (49%).

Nevertheless, compared with other countries, Australia is only 'moderately polarised', with Argentina, the US, and Sweden already severely polarised, and France, Japan and the UK 'in danger of severe polarisation':

RSA member and evolutionary biologist, Jenny Graves, has written the words to a new piece of music called "Origins: of the universe, of species, of humanity", performed by the Heidelberg Choral Society at the Melbourne Recital Centre in July 2023. 

As Jenny says, "Astonishingly, nobody seems to have attempted to represent even the most elementary scientific concepts musically. This opens up opportunities to create something absolutely novel, profound, and timeless .. my overarching aim in the whole work is to present science as beautiful and wonderful, sexy, and even fun."

Watch the performance below...

Other stories of interest

Frankston Council preaches inclusion and diversity, but enforces prayer ritual | Rationalist Society of Australia

A majority of those living in the City of Frankston are not religious. As councillor Sue Baker says in the video in this article, "The use of a Christian prayer is inclusive of less than half the community".

Voice conspiracies follow the 'fake news' playbook - Rationale Magazine

"Endorsements of conspiracy theories are correlated. If you endorse one conspiracy theory, you are more likely to endorse another, even if the two have little in common.

This is partly explained by psychological reactance, a sensitive and angry response to perceived infringements on personal autonomy. This theory underpins why some people, when explicitly told not to do something, feel more compelled to do it."

Got a comment on any of these stories? 

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au

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