Our fate is not always in our own hands: a morality tale

Nostradamus
Nothing more demonstrates the prevalence of the lack of compassion in our community towards those who are afflicted by mental illness in one form or another than the vicious electronic blogging surrounding Paula Wriedt. I noticed with great interest that the Mercury exercised editorial moderation in comments pertaining to Mr. Symon. However, because one was a politician and the other expected to be a highly paid executive, their cases received undue publicity. For every case in the public eye, there are hundreds that are unseen and in some cases untreated.

…

The quality of mercy is not strain’d,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

The Merchant of Venice Act 4, scene 1, 180–187

ANYONE who writes on a regular basis and professionally looks for feedback on what he/she has written. Nothing disappoints more than to write something reasonably coherent and intelligent, only to have the article used as a springboard for bloggers to score points off one another and ignore totally what is written. I know because I’ve been there, seen that and at times it makes me throw my hands in the air with despair. After a while it comes to us all: should we give up?

I have many reasons for wanting to give up on life, writing, and a variety of interests which I no longer find present a challenge. However, when I am laid to rest I hope that someone, somewhere, has read one of my articles and felt that they have learned something; been enriched or even given pause to think – that will be justification in itself.

When I first agreed to start writing for the Tasmanian Times, I wanted to be different: I wanted to make a change. I certainly did not want to fall into becoming a carping critic, because we get enough of that in the mainstream press. The Internet offers many challenges but it does give an individual a chance to speak out and perhaps make a difference. It worries me that occasionally people comment that they do not understand what I’m writing about. I am familiar with KISS (keep it simple stupid) principle in management and training terms but I also find that if you follow that path too closely the intended and more intelligent audience tunes out, because their intellect is insulted.

That brings me back to the quotation above: I love quotations and I have several of my own which I hope one day will be accepted as amusing if not exactly profound or pearls of wisdom. The reason for looking for quotations by great people is that very often their greatness inspires, motivates or draws people together. And while other writers continue to pursue worthy causes in Tasmanian Times, especially raging against the pulp mill; development at Ralph’s Bay; government ineptitude and a veritable cornucopia of other subjects, from the beginning I wanted to write about the human condition. In particular, I wanted to write in praise of Tasmania, which is a very special place but over the past 10 to 15 years, it has succumbed to imported ideas and attitudes from the big island to the North. I should explain that I regard the mainland in those terms because Tasmania is different or at least it has been for a long while and I am concerned to try and keep it so and this appears to be falling into the category of the labours of Hercules. I do not propose to spell them out because Google is extremely efficient at finding them for those who are interested.

Those who read Nostradamus regularly will find the common thread through most of the articles. I have written two specific articles on depression and suicide, which have largely been prompted by the events surrounding Ms. Paula Wriedt. After last week’s effort, I resolved not to mention her again except to hope that she is able to get successful treatment and live as normal a life as possible. As I pointed out then, clinical depression can strike anyone, anywhere and at any time. It has no respect for rank, status, class and all those categories into which people lump one another. I will admit that in part, my interest in the subject has personal connotations but there is more than meets the eye. I had wanted to write articles on the conditions that afflict our society in general and Tasmania in particular. Depression was to be the first cab off the rank, followed by the social impacts of gambling, drinking, smoking, domestic violence, discrimination in all its forms and so on. These articles were not intended to in any way diminish the usual fare in Tasmanian Times: I would hate to think that the very important issues raised each week are overshadowed by anything I write but it is my hope that people who read about these issues also read my articles, even in passing, just to show that there are other things in life that are important.

That does not mean that I will not write about political issues because they are important and I have many resources at my disposal in that area. What concerns me far more than politics is the change in Tasmanian’s values, norms and beliefs. Nowhere has that been more clear of late than in the electronic edition of the Mercury and as I have noted in relation to the case of Ms. Wriedt, there appears to have been a distinct lack of sympathy, a feeling that she is getting more than she deserved in financial terms and even that in some respects, her condition was a put-up job. Cowards who hide behind screen names or aliases when blogging are at times beyond contempt, yet I am realistic enough to realize their remarks reflect deeply held feelings. With the economic crisis facing the world of which we are part, many people will be annoyed at the payout to Ms. Wriedt: is it merely selfishness because she is getting something that I am or they are not? No doubt many will look at the bushfires that have swept through the mainland states and suggest that her payout be diverted to the relief fund.

As one old and sadly deceased football player said: “It’s déjà vu all over again,” and that is pretty much how I felt when I read of the sad case of Craig Symon, the newly appointed head of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Mercury headline of February 5 carried the news on the front page under the banner “Two-day wonder” which rather belied the sensitive treatment of the story by Sue Neales and Damien Brown. The news is there for everyone to read and doesn’t really bear repetition. Newspapers thrive on sensational headlines but the story as related was extremely fair.

I certainly do not intend to speculate on just what condition affects Mr. Symon but accounts in the media indicate that it was likely to be mental illness. Where I stand on this subject is very well known and I have applauded the efforts of government, politicians and certain personalities who have done their best to bring such matters into the public domain and de-stigmatize them. I was particularly struck by a series of government-funded TV advertisements some time ago in which a young lad asked his father whether a friend could accompany them and the father’s expression reflected dubious feelings but he appeared to be mollified and accepting of the condition of the friend who was taking his medication. Enough said, except that medication for mental illnesses has to be carefully monitored and is very often highly specific to each case. And we should be honest enough to admit that in far too many TV programs that pass for entertainment, there are always cases of “nutters” who hadn’t taken their medication and instead had resorted to alcohol or illicit drugs. That is not a particularly pleasant negative stereotype.

It is something of an understatement to say find the whole attitude towards medication somewhat problematic. It is certainly the case that with many conditions, physical and psychological, a person who is correctly diagnosed and treated with the appropriate medication can lead a full and productive life. In fact, I know of a number of politicians who have taken prescription medication for depression over the years and having seen them at close hand has given me a profound sympathy for the lot of the average MP, which alas, is sadly lacking among the general population. I still wonder why people think that politics is just the circus that we call Parliament. In Tasmania more than any other state, largely because of the Hare-Clark electoral system, a politician has to be “out there” and available. Not to engage with the electorate runs the very real risk of political oblivion. How many people realize that in the real world, politicians operate on a 24 x 7 x 365 timetable? Holidays are taken when convenient rather than when needed or preferred. Furthermore, overseas trips are always regarded as junkets, paid for by the public purse and that politicians appear run up huge bills carousing and living the high life. The Australian dollar doesn’t go far overseas, more so now than for quite a while.

There is no doubt that in the federal sphere that occurs on occasions but I would say on the basis of my knowledge of Canberra, it is the exception rather than the rule. Consider if you will the grinding toll on politicians from Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, far North Queensland and yes, even Tasmania, when members have to get up at a time public servants used to refer to as “sparrow fart,” in order to connect with the red-eye special – the first flights of the day. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Kim Beazley to name but one paid a terrible price for holding a seat in Western Australia and I always thought it was to his great credit that he declined a safe seat to fight a marginal, when Leader of the Opposition and by definition, the alternative Prime Minister. Politicians who live in cities that have direct flights to the national capital have it slightly easier but note that is a relative term.

The situation for Tasmanian state politicians is different because of our electoral system, which means time on the road, in the electorate, attending meetings and carrying out a variety of duties. Again my view on the calibre of our local politicians is sufficiently well known not to be reiterated that I can say from experience that I have been involved in advising federal governments and I know a lot about the routine of federal members. What I’ve not said is that I have been involved in a campaign for a local state member over a decade ago. I was not on the candidate’s staff but I saw at first hand the effect it can have on family life and social relationships. Too much comment in the media is based on lack of knowledge. I have often wondered why the Mercury has not asked for say, a cadet journalist, to be put on the staff of a politician and record an everyday diary of what happens in the run-up to an election. I would hazard a guess and say that whoever the unlucky person was, he or she would not be feel quite the same afterwards. Perhaps education in that form would dispel some of the prevailing myths that our politicians earn too much for too little or perhaps not, because it is very difficult to shift ignorance and inbuilt bias.

I had intended to say more about the case of Mr. Craig Symon and his parting of the ways with the TCCI. In deference to his wishes, expressed in public statements in the media, printed and electronic, the only comment I would add is that the TCCI does not exactly emerge from the incident with any great distinction. On the other hand, without being in full possession of the facts, I could hardly justify a charge that they erred in due duty of care: it was just handled poorly and provided a measure of how far we have to go in dealing with employee problems, even at executive level.

Mental illness and depression in particular wreaks a terrible havoc on our society and with the current economic crisis, matters are scarcely calculated to get any better. There have already been cases noted in the US of the knock-on effects from increased unemployment, job security and so on. Increased drinking, more dangerous driving and great number of suicides have already been reported and if the experts are right, it will be a considerable time before the economy is turned round and we may well return to the days of double-digit unemployment. It is to be hoped that political parties do not intend to make capital out of the misfortune of the unemployed and stigmatize them as they do so readily these days. Knocking the dole bludger is a popular pastime of current affairs shows on TV. There will always be people who do not want to work but it does raise the question of whether we were to live or live to work and that is something I will address in a future article.

Returning briefly to depression and suicide, anyone who watched the quite remarkable program about the British actor Stephen Fry on ABC-TV on the night of February 9 ( Stephen Fry: The secret life of the manic depressive) would have seen these subjects up close and personal in Mr. Fry’s case and I admired his courage for participating fully and frankly in the program. It was not a program calculated to promote his career, rather, it helped explain the nature of his rather mysterious breakdown a few years ago, when abruptly, he left the stage in London and walked off in tears. The most gut-wrenching aspect of this program was that the producers also managed to have Mr. Fry engage with people who suffer manic depression. And there was something very humbling in his conclusion that bad as his case was, there were worse in the community. No one should think that it is a British problem: it is a problem of worldwide proportions.

Nothing more demonstrates the prevalence of the lack of compassion in our community towards those who are afflicted by mental illness in one form or another than the vicious electronic blogging surrounding Paula Wriedt. I noticed with great interest that the Mercury exercised editorial moderation in comments pertaining to Mr. Symon. However, because one was a politician and the other expected to be a highly paid executive, their cases received undue publicity. For every case in the public eye, there are hundreds that are unseen and in some cases untreated.

The words of Shakespeare quoted at the beginning of this article are four centuries old but in my view, they are no less relevant today. We regard ourselves as more advanced and more civilized but as events have shown, we still have a lot to learn about charity, compassion and mercy. As I read about the bushfires in Victoria and the Tasmanian response, I know that a great deal of charity compassion and mercy is present in the community but it should not require bushfires and a massive loss of life for us to inculcate it in our very being.

Nostradamus