ADF toxic chaplaincy culture; Undecideds; Shermer no 8; Costello and MLK

Published: Wed, 08/30/23

RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Rationale, the magazine of the Rationalist Society of Australia

Good morning ,

I am assuming readers of this bulletin are already knowledgeable about the issues to be considered when deciding how to vote in the 14 October Voice referendum. But I include this morning one sensible article that appeals not to those who've already made up their mind but to the Undecideds. Sensible. And I also attach an op ed written by an RSA member in Tasmania, and published in the Hobart Mercury. Also compelling.

For those of you who agreed with my brother - that candidates for political office should be required to undergo a psychological test to weed out the sociopaths and psychopaths - Shermer's 8th moral principle ought to appeal.

Oh, and for those of you who may not have ever read Martin Luther King Junior's Letter from a Birmingham Jail, may I encourage you to do so now? It's a tour de force of both reason and soaring, compelling rhetoric. And timely.

Lead stories

ADF leadership 'protected' air force chaplain's abuser, royal commission hears

More on that story about abuse within the ADF: "dirty little secret that bullying and sexual assaults are rife and they’re not dealing with them adequately .. lack the moral courage to stand up to the bullies, the abusers and the sexual perverts who prey on the men and women who signed up to protect their country .. the chaplaincy branch was “very dysfunctional” with “quite a toxic culture".

Why the 'yes' campaign should embrace the politics of nationhood

Amid the multitude of articles about The Voice, this is one of the only that speaks of how to appeal to the right-of-centre Undecideds - the very ones needed to win the elusive double majority.

Michael Shermer's 10 moral principles - no 8

8. The Defend Others Principle: Stand up to evil people and moral transgressors, and defend the defenseless when they are victimized.

There are people in the world who will commit moral transgressions against us and our fellow group members. Either through the logic of violence and aggression in which perpetrators of evil always feel justified in their acts, or through such conditions as psychopathy, a non-negligible portion of a population will commit selfish or cruel acts. We must stand up against them.

Other stories of interest

US: $39 billion of student loans to be forgiven by Biden govt

A good news story.

Greece Blaze Is The "Largest Wildfire Ever Recorded in EU"

For any of you who have had the pleasure of visiting Greece, this is to cry for.

Tim Costello: Voice referendum a chance for Australia's church to take a stand for justice

Costello cites Martin Luther King's heartfelt Letter from a Birmingham Jail that castigates his fellow clergy who claimed to support the cause of equality, but called his direct action “unwise and untimely”, urging patience and delay.

The Rights of Indigenous People

Shamefully, Australia was one of the few nations that voted against the UN's Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People in 2007 (though the Rudd govt later reversed this decision).

Got a comment on any of these stories?

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au