According to grandstanding Senator Kristina Keneally, commentator Raheem Kassam should have been banned from entry to Australia. Kassam, who offhandedly remarked about a politician’s reproductive abilities, deleted the post, offered a full apology and appeared contrite. Sadly, neither Keneally nor Labor party leader Anthony Albanese felt it necessary to acknowledge this. An apology is worthless if there are political points to be scored.

Given the Senator’s repeated retelling of how important her Catholic faith is you would hope that mercy and forgiveness were imprinted in her DNA. Even more so given she is a progressive Catholic, who has openly supported the ordination of women as priests.

Like many things in the bully pulpit of politics, when it comes to contrition, politicians are less forgiving. Contrast this with the widely reported intemperate words used by a respected indigenous leader who described a member of the Queensland government as a “fucking white cunt”. This exchange was widely reported in the press but evidence of any apology is harder to locate. The comparison is striking: it’s not the apology that matters, it’s your political leaning that defines whether you receive clemency or are damned for all eternity.

Constant calls for atonement seem pointless in today’s toxic Twitter environment. The value of an apology is near zero. National “Sorry Day” means nothing to many Australians while relentless claims of overdue penance and reparations to indigenous Australians are falling increasingly on deaf ears. It’s not just politicians who use the “faux apology” to meet their own ends.

Recent contract negotiations to replace a Nine Media’s 2GB host were amped up by rekindling a story from broadcaster Chris Smith’s past. Claims were resurrected to increase pressure on the presenter go away quietly. Smith’s fall from grace was well documented, played out in the public glare and his penitence was genuine and paid in full years ago. But Nine Group chose to reignite this story in their Sydney Morning Herald in spite of the fact most of his listeners were aware of the incident and listened anyway.

A similar situation arose with National’s Leader Michael McCormack who wrote a damning homophobic editorial early on in his early journalistic career. Repeated apologies and immeasurable remorse never appease the hectoring critics with a keyboard, bad attitude, moral superiority and a Facebook audience.

But when you reflect on who does and doesn’t get an Australian visa, it’s worth reviewing the case of one George O’Dowd. This British citizen was convicted in 2008 for falsely imprisoning and assaulting a male model. He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. O’Dowd, better known as Boy George has been a regular visitor to Australia for years and also judges young talent on the Nine Network’s “The Voice Australia”. Contrast this with another UK entertainer (provocateur?) Milo Yiannopoulos. The squeaky wheel of the Left imposed their influence once again and his visa was denied for a planned 2019 visit. How do politicians and media organisations reconcile these double standards?

So, where do we go from here? The nation’s White Australia policy was relegated to history’s dustbin but the myopic Left’s relentless braying constantly remind us of our past sins. They never tire in their efforts to describe the citizens who disagree with their viewpoint as rednecks. If you question immigration policy, you’re a racist and if you challenge any aspect of climate insanity then you’re a heretical denier.

The only way to change the situation is to push back at every opportunity.

Australians are a complacent, easy-going bunch but we are at the crossroads. Our celebrated plain-speaking and candour are in jeopardy as we are governed more by politically correct, social media empowered useful idiots. These noisy keyboard warriors may gain ascendency if we allow it, but it’s time to take back control and revitalise the plain-speaking, honest, scrappy, Aussie larrikin and lead freedom of expression by example. No more apologies, saying what the thought police demand. No more backing down.

If you disagree with something then challenge it. If you see a situation where traditional Australian values are under threat, push back. The timeless value we are placing in peril is the fair go. And that’s just not on.

Mike Ryan is a curmudgeonly technical copywriter who lives in the glorious Hunter Valley.

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