Bob’s unerring vision
WELL, well, well, Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize for Literature and that has stirred up a bit of controversy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While I can understand that some people feel such a prestigious award should not go to someone most widely recognised as a singer/songwriter, I think the Swedish Academy has shown remarkable good judgement in its virtually unanimous decision.
I cannot think of another person in recent history who has made us occupants of this lovely planet take a good, long, hard look at ourselves and see ourselves as we really are, warts and all.
He has made us think about how we treat this planet and how we treat our fellow inhabitants, especially those from the poorer and less fortunate parts of this earth.
He has made us ask when will we stop waging war on each other.
He has made us question whether we and our leaders really are the well-meaning humanitarians we like to think we are or whether we are driven by far less admirable characteristics such as greed, envy, supremacy and influence.
He may not exhibit the most melodious delivery style but his lyrics certainly make us think deeply about how appropriate our actions have been in the past and continue to be today. And hopefully they encourage us to think about how we might do things better in the future.
“How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he doesn’t see, how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry. Yes how many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?”
Peter Matthews
Wagga
Where are the markets?
WHEN I came to live in Wagga six years ago, I was surprised and dismayed that a place with the reputation of being one of the state's food bowls could only scratch together one farmers' market a month.
So it was worth the drive over to Canberra for the amazing abundance and buzz of the epic markets every Saturday morning.
Things did change for a while.
Eventually Eat Local Thursday came and went.
Then the Riverina Growers Market (where is it located this week?). Now Sprout and About – an unfocused jumble with very little local produce and so poorly organised that I won't bother next time.
I would love to hear a good investigative report from one of your journalists on why it seems that when it comes to the supposed boom in farmers' markets across the country, Wagga can't organise the equivalent of a chook raffle.
I've heard a number of reasons but none of them convincing.
I'd like to support local producers and I would be a regular customer, but I'm afraid that drive to Canberra is looking good again.
Mark Macleod
Wagga
Thin edge of the wedge
ONCE again in her latest letter, Lisa Ryan gives a number of tired old reasons why a piggery should not be built in Harden shire and worse still, why we should not have any agriculture at all.
No ducks, chooks for eating or eggs, turkeys, no pork and no grazing animals.
Once again, she completely fails to explain what alternatives she has in mind and worst of all, what other employment would appear magically for Harden people.
She appears to have little thought for those out of work.
More to the point, I asked if she had ever run a major business, had ever been a serious employer, does she work in a paying job, does she depend on taxpayer support.
I am not suggesting she is but these are legitimate questions that need to be answered, which she has not done, before she promotes that jobs be taken from Harden.