By Keith Davis
Already we have the Nazi slogan of ‘Work Will Make You Free’ splattered heavily across our social welfare landscape. ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ … work will make you free. The punishing war on the poor and the disadvantaged includes such draconian tactics as slave labour under Work for the Dole and the implementation of the de-humanising corrals of the JobActive Jobnetwork System.
Arbeit Macht Frei was pinned above the gates of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It was a Nazi three word slogan.
Already we have the goons and thugs of the far right spreading filth at peaceful demonstrations that seek to support the rights of Asylum Seekers. The demonisation of genuine refugees as sub-human animals, as ‘others’ who are dangerous subverters of the Australian way of life, is a technique straight out of the manual of National Socialism. It is an extremist tactic.
Already we have the First Peoples of this nation treated like absolute dirt. The forced closure of Indigenous communities, the unsubtle withdrawal of Indigenous welfare funding, and the right wing attacks on an Aboriginal footballer who proudly stood up for his culture are indicators of a sickening far right view of the primacy of one race over another. Such a view is extremist.
Already we have seen the public vilification of a Human Rights Commissioner who had the courage to speak out, who had the courage to say that enough is enough. The vile orchestrated attack upon this woman by the mouthpieces of the far right is a harbinger of the suppression of free speech. That is an extremist tactic.
Already we have the protection of the supporters of the far right taking precedence over the needs of the people. The wealthy are assisted in their tax avoidance. Multi-National Corporations (the modern day Krupps) are freed from any form of forensic scrutiny of their predations upon the natural wealth of our nation. This support of the elite and the wealthy, to the detriment of the mass of the people, and to the detriment of the disadvantaged, is an extremist far-right tactic.
Already we have the spectre of the Australian Armed Forces being used as a tool to foster yet another surge of international imperialism. We are now willing bit players in a new sequel to that damning old Nazi film ‘The Triumph of the Will’. We seek to impose our will upon others. That is an extremist tactic.
The political far right in Australia is seeking to ingrain an ugly form of Australian nationalism and the term ‘unAustralian’ is starting to be applied to anybody who dares to question, who dares to speak out, who dares to demand social justice for all. That, decidedly, is a Nazi tactic.
Do we, as a nation, wish to continue to go down this path?
Do we, as a people, have the strength to stand up and say NO?
Do we, as individuals, have the courage to publicly reject Arbeit Macht Frei?
