Australian pop music crusader Jack River chats to music icon and activist Peter Garrett about post-apocalyptic Australia, soft revolutions, political hope, and more (via rollingstoneaus)
It is 2020. The hells of the bushfire season have whipped our country into a whirl of political, social and environmental hysteria. There is a virus circulating the Earth at warp speed, threatening a significant percentage of the human population.
I think that’s quite understandable because all your senses are very alert and alive and you’re thinking a lot about the world that essentially you’re starting to take your place in. And you can see with probably more clarity than older people can, what really needs to be addressed and what’s going on. At the same time, you’re impatient and frustrated when you put your shoulder to the wheel and the wheel doesn’t move.
I’ve never really felt helpless at all. Partly because no matter how much the blinds are drawn I can usually see a glimmer of light through the window. And I am a really strong believer in collective work and working with others, working in community, working in partnership, working in relationships.
And sometimes that involved getting their hands dirty, so to speak. By that I mean getting involved in work they didn’t expect to. Sometimes it involved them in formal politics, which some of them might not have thought they would be involved in. Sometimes it involved them in lifelong struggle. Sometimes it split their families up, sometimes it busted up relationships. But those people did the hard work for us.
Yeah totally. And here’s the thing – nothing is granted as an automatic right, and there’s nothing that we have that can’t also be taken away from us or just eroded by greed and stupidity, and people wanting to exercise power in their own interests and not in the interests of the whole…. I think that another element is the genuine, absolute recognition of prior occupation by First Nations people whose understanding and knowledge about the land was very deep. Whose culture and heritage are still very much alive and can be something which we’re lucky enough to be able to have as part of our foundation character.
In the political process that means not turning off to the process but engaging with it. When the time comes for the country to make its next big decision about the direction it wants to go, it’s making sure that young people are out in force to try and make the right decision. I feel like there’s moments in history, moments when a whole country is literally and metaphorically feeling like we’re in a furnace. Unlikely heroes, both public and private, emerge because they must, but usually, for people to make huge life decisions such as, say, enter politics when they weren’t planning to, start a revolutionary tech company, or create an event like Emergency Climate Summit.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Flashback: Jack Bruce Plays 'Sunshine of Your Love' With Ringo Starr, Peter FramptonThe 1997 All Starr Band also featured Simon Kirke of Bad Company and Gary Brooker of Procol Harum
Read more »
Corrie's Jack P Shepherd attacked by giant rat that clung to his neckThe Coronation Street star was viciously attacked by a giant rat which clung to his neck and then slithered down his body
Read more »
Flashback: Jack Bruce Plays 'Sunshine of Your Love' With Ringo Starr, Peter FramptonThe 1997 All Starr Band also featured Simon Kirke of Bad Company and Gary Brooker of Procol Harum
Read more »
Emma Roberts Is Reportedly Pregnant With Her First Child With Garrett HedlundThe two have been dating for over a year.
Read more »
Emma Roberts Is Reportedly Pregnant With Her First Child With Garrett HedlundThe two have been dating for over a year.
Read more »
Brie Larson Launches YouTube Channel as She Recalls Making Movies in Her GarageThe 'Captain Marvel' star made her debut on Thursday with a video explaining why she decided to join the platform that also features her mother, grandmother, Lilly Singh, Connor Franta and other online personalities.
Read more »