From ‘The Latham Diaries’ by Mark Latham
Mark Latham, leader of the Australian Labor Party from late 2003 to early 2005, was unconventional as a politician but, I feel, extremely sincere; he was never afraid to state the obvious. He made politicians on both sides of politics feel uncomfortable – something that is undoubtedly necessary if we are to achieve a more honest and trustworthy political system.In 2005, he published The Latham Diaries, and the following is a quote he has included from Kelvin Thomson (page 139).
People can proclaim their compassion in the abstract as loudly as they like, but there is no such thing as humanity in the abstract, there are only people. If you treat people in your life with contempt, then your great compassion for humanity in the abstract does not mean a lot.
The photo of Mark Latham is from www.theage.com.au
Please note: There will be no blog post next week 11th August; the next book review will be on the 16th August.
2 Replies to “From ‘The Latham Diaries’ by Mark Latham”
I'm sure it's a very interesting read, I agree that he was both sincere and unconventional, which is probably why he was so short-lived in the political arena… He wasn't prepared to toe the line, and so, instead of taking note of the issues he raised and supporting his vision of fairness – he was painted as a loose cannon and a thug…
I agree with you completely. Thank you so much for taking time to comment; I actually made a mistake about the date of the next review – I should have written the 18th, not the 16th.