Brilliant

Andrew Elder has a remarkable insightful piece here - a must read for anyone interested in the way our politics and our media intersect.

And it raises a big issue - when are we going to have a national debate about the war that we have been prosecuting in Afghanistan now for over ten years? And which has cost us 24 young lives and untold amounts of treasure?

When do you think our democratic processes will ensure our people actually get to understand and talk about this war and its impacts and to decide if it's something that we want to continue with?

Oh you mean never?

So it's quite OK for governments on both the Liberal and Labor sides to think the people of the nation aren't smart enough or mature enough to be told the truth and to engage in a serious debate on this shitty little war?

Hell no - the geniuses in the parliament are much more capable of making these important decisions for us all.

Apparently it's not something the politicians think we need to have a conversation about but the people have decided to have it anyway - which is why the asylum seeker debate is so toxic.