The Lack Of Resolve Inherent In Selfishness
by Philip Atkinson

Being at the mercy of the vagaries of their feelings means the selfish are:

1. Whimsical— Moods change, so must the understanding that reflects those moods. This is demonstrated by the way our community now reacts to criminal acts, which swings from "zero tolerance" to mild rebuke, depending upon the fad of the moment. On the TV news 25th August 1998 a compulsory 14 day prison sentence was handed out to a youth whose first and only offence was stealing a $2 lighter in Darwin, whereas in July 2000 a mother who stabbed her child to death received only a 24 day prison sentence. Neither reaction was appropriate.
2. Disloyal— Constantly searching for advantage without effort makes the selfish well aware of the value of other people's friendship for the easy rewards this can win. But this cannot change their own nature; being committed only to their own ends they will discard anyone whose allegiance is not profitable; and this applies to all their associates, be they relatives, friends, or a regime.
3. Unreliable— The immoral are the slaves of their feelings, which undermine every private intention; they cannot trust themselves to do, or not do, anything, because it is not their reason that is in charge of their person, but their feelings. And as lust can instantly give way to loathing when some chance event exchanges attraction for revulsion—making the spouse or lover the first suspect in a murder enquiry—the selfish must be considered unreliable in everything.
4. Cowardly And Weak—Unrestrained by truth or morality the selfish invariably seek the quickest and easiest path; which in turn makes them cowards and weaklings, vulnerable to all of life's ills. They are denied the immunity to pain and hardship conferred upon those striving for an unselfish purpose; or the joy felt when such goals are finally won. They cannot share the exultation of a soldier who endures the most dreadful privations to save his mates; nor the everlasting satisfaction of a mother who willingly sacrifices her own health and leisure to raise a family.

Inevitably a nation of timid citizens demands a government that shrinks from unpleasant truths and resolute action; one that abhors violence. The result is:

1. An Official Abhorrence Of Violence:
1. An Official Abhorrence Of Violence:
i.The death penalty abandoned (since 1975 in Australia), which is:
• FollyAs it is allowing an enemy of the community the chance to kill again.
• InjusticeIf the penalty is not death, who can say what the just penalty should be?
• CowardiceAs it reveals the community fears to do what a criminal does not fear to do.
ii.Corporal punishment abandoned reducing authority to impotence in the face of juvenile crime.
iii.The courts are increasingly failing to adequately punish common criminals.
iv.Smacking has been forbidden in the disciplining of children preventing adults from effectively controlling their own, or others, children. This prohibition prevents the upholding of justice, the maintenance of order, and the ability of the community to survive as it can no longer discipline, hence instill its understanding into, its off-spring.
2. Devaluation of Courage: By reducing violence in public displays. Both Soccer and Rugby League have seen the rules changed to minimise the risk of injury to players, making the activity more effete. The actual impact on the game of soccer was demonstrated to the whole world by the Soccer World Cup played in Japan and Korea during June 2002. The matches were confused, inane, spectacles because the rules prevented any side from dominating the game. The chief influence was that of the referee who had to constantly interrupt play because a foul had occurred, or rule a player was pretending a foul had occurred. Behaving like spoilt children, players constantly grabbed each other's shirts, feigned injury, threw tantrums and strutted like peacocks when luck gave them a goal. In my lifetime soccer has degenerated from an exciting fair game to a fatuous and shameful exhibition.
3. An explosion of paranoia (irrational fears): which has won social tyranny and communal paralysis.
4. An inability to recognise and deal with our enemies: Australia cannot resist invaders who now pour into this country as refugees.

The Loss Of The Military Spirit
Edward Gibbon noted in his History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, that the decline of Rome was inevitable following their loss of military spirit, meaning the Romans became cowardly. Our cowardly society is now repeating the example of the Ancient Romans.

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