Much Ado About Nothing !

Do you remember the incredible fuss when New South Wales proposed abolishing the " Six O'clock Swill " ?    That was the draconian law that required the serving of alcoholic drinks to cease at six o'clock in the evening and consequently great groups of mainly men congregated outside pubs as the witching hour approached, surrounded by glasses of beer that they quaffed before staggering home tipsy  !

The religious establishment suggested that moving " closing time " to ten in the evening would bring a form of Armageddon.  " Women will be raped in the streets " they proclaimed.  " This will be the end of a civilized society."

The new drinking law came into effect with barely a murmur.  Inner city pubs in the business district became much quieter and suburban pubs gained family customers.  There was a huge drop in inebriated people on the trains during the evening commute and the rush just after six o'clock evened out noticeably.

Exactly the same wave of predictions  preceded the law that allowed same sex couples to legally marry, The religious establishment spent a lot of money on advertisements that claimed that the " sky was falling ", and a few fanatics did refuse service to gays to make their point, but this new law settled into place with barely a ripple.

Now we have the ridiculous  suggestion that we need a new law to protect religion from having to accept both students and teachers who do not adhere to church teachings into their religious schools.  They want the right to discriminate and uphold the church law that same sex marriage abolished with a referendum clearly showing the wish of the Australian population.

When it comes to church schools the biggest number are provided by the Roman Catholic church which once staffed them with Priests and Nuns.  Today, teachers are drawn from lay staff of many religions and children from the wide society are amongst their students,  with Catholics gaining admittance preference.

In our secular society we have a mix of many religions and a huge variety of lifestyles and we insist that they be protected from discrimination.   Schools that only teach a narrow religious outlook on life will not prepare their students for the experience of the wider world when they will encounter this diversity in their working and entertainment sphere.   In fact, the sheltered upbringing of a religious school engenders prejudice when such students encounter others with a differing point of view.

The best way to integrate the mix of people that are the modern Australians of today is to let compliance find its own level.  What we least need is a pernicious law that creates artificial obstacles behind which religion hides.   What we need is protection from dogmatic religion  !