General News
30 July, 2024
Old salutations still respectful
By CHRIS EARL ANY interesting week around the world and at home - an octogenarian president in the United States becomes the first incumbent in more than 60 years to not seek re-election, in Victoria a powerful construction union becomes the centre...
By CHRIS EARL
ANY interesting week around the world and at home - an octogenarian president in the United States becomes the first incumbent in more than 60 years to not seek re-election, in Victoria a powerful construction union becomes the centre of claims now referred by the State Government for investigation.
They have been the big headlines. What might have slipped through the news radar of many people comes under the broad definition of diversity, equality and inclusion - the buzzwords that have been behind crusades of some in society to change how other people think, act and respond.
To the layperson, it’s what can be described as being politically correct. We’ve seen all levels of government, top echelons of AFL and right down to grassroots community level, pushing for an embracement of altered ideals. Big business, too, sought to exert influence in the 2023 referendum that has since been labelled as divisive, some even saying it set back genuine inclusion.
Last week the nearly 200-year-old industrial and farming equipment manufacturer John Deere said it would “no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events.”
The US company known around the world for its green and gold livery tractors said that “the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.”
John Deere said that the changes were based on the company’s commitment to responding to customer opinion.
“To best serve our customers and employees, Deere is always listening to feedback and looking for opportunities to improve,” the statement read. “That’s why we consistently prioritize internal policies that more closely align with our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers.”
And on Tuesday, Loddon Shire councillors were discussing whether its policy be amended and officers, staff and even fellow councillors could be addressed as Mister, Missus, Miss ... only with consent of course.
That council had a policy outlawing such courtesies, replaced with the bland and nondescript titles of officer, director, CEO that achieved compliance with policies dictated by higher levels of government only demonstrated that whether social engineering, being politically correct, or toeing the line, the one-size-fits-all approach authored and decreed in the big cities only serves to show how out of touch some are with country values.
The sanitising of salutations serves little practical benefit. To remove the norm, and risk castigation for pursuing long-held respectful customs, is sad.
John Deere has driven the tractor through a wall blocking sense and sensibility. We saw that Murray Plains MP Peter Walsh welcomed the move.
The disappearance of Mr, Mrs and Miss in some media reporting may be reversed. I do wonder whether some of our older women are referred to as Ms in some stories carried by big media outlets. They could invariably be women married for 50 and 60 years, proud to be called Mrs. Of course, we live in a modern world and things have changed. But that’s no reason to throw out values that have actually fostered real respect for centuries,