This past weekend I was watching The Dark Knight (2008). Not my favourite franchise, but critically acclaimed.

One thing that stood out to me was a line by Commissioner Gordon towards the end of the film. He says that Batman ‘is the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now’.

In the film, Batman takes the fall for something District Attorney Harvey Dent does in order to preserve Dent’s reputation, allowing Dent to be the hero Gotham needs, despite Batman being the one it really deserves.

This self-sacrifice of Batman, to do what was right despite the personal consequences, prompted me to think of our own political leadership since the Bondi Massacre just over a month ago.

In the days and weeks following I have received dozens of phone calls, from Jews and non-Jews alike.

The calls from non-Jews in particular were very touching. Friends wanted to know how I was coping, to tell me we have their support and that those responsible need to be held accountable.

The outpouring of support has been tremendous. I am truly grateful to everyone who has reached out.

The main topic of conversation, however, has been the poor leadership, or lack of leadership, shown in the wake of this tragic event.

During these conversations questions revolved around ‘where is the leadership?’ or ‘how can this be the level of leadership in Australia after such a horrific event?’

There have been many questions in my conversations about what we have done to deserve such weak leadership, but few answers.

The truth can be found in something Plato wrote millennia ago in The Republic.

‘One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.’

Looking around at the political landscape in Australia and across parts of the globe, his words appear prophetic nearly 2,400 years later.

No wonder British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead thought ‘the European philosophical tradition consists of a series of footnotes to Plato’. Few can say their words hold true across the millennia, from antiquity until today.

Everyone is complaining about politics and politicians, just open up any newspaper or online forum, Twitter etc. but few are interested enough to get involved, try to affect policy, or put their hand up to have a go themselves.

Membership of Australians aged 18+ of civic and political groups has halved from 18.6 per cent in 2006 to just 7.4 per cent in 2020. The fact that we are talking about a drop from 18.6 per cent as a high point is a wild idea.

This trend is not unique to politics. There has been a significant decrease in the membership of Australians 18+ in community support groups, social and religious groups and with civic engagement in general.

The critical thing about politics is that unlike the other groups mentioned above, the decisions made by politicians will impact every single aspect of our lives.

Whether it be the cost of living, the economy, freedom of speech, or my ability to own a gun.

The decisions made on our behalf by those who govern us have real, tangible effects on our way of life, and all too often to our detriment.

Disengagement with politics and the political process leaves a gap where there is no accountability and those in charge can do whatever they want with our lives and our rights.

‘Some men just want to watch the world burn.’

So perhaps we deserve to have a rudderless, visionless government, even though that is not what we need.

And perhaps we deserve to have an incompetent, shambles of an opposition unable to hold the government to account, even though that is not what we need.

Because too many people moan and groan, but don’t lift a finger to change things.

It would be easy to despair and think there is no way forward from here, things will only get worse. Many seem to have already been black-pilled on the subject of politics.

To those people I would say, all is not lost…

We are not locked into being governed by our, as Plato would say, ‘inferiors’, in perpetuity.

The answer is simple, but not easy.

The best among us have to get involved, and get involved in a meaningful manner.

Great empires don’t fall due to outside forces. The barbarians never take the gates.

Rome fell due to severe economic crises like high inflation and taxation, ahem 2026 anyone? and political corruption.

We can’t keep letting the political class take this great country further and further down that same path.

Through our own inaction, we have the leaders we deserve, not the leaders we need.

Harvey Dent said it best, ‘The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.’ But only if we bring it.