Whilst proponents & opponents of the federal government’s move to slap a restriction order on “Jihad Jack” argue up hill & down dale as to whether restricting freedom of citizens is justified on the basis that they might commit a crime, the cynic in me suspects that the majority of Australians support the government’s move, provided, of course, that the same arbitrary principles & secret processes are not used against them.

Whilst I’m just as sickened by acts of terrorism as anyone-else, irrespective of whether they are perpetrated by religious zealots, alleged patriots or armies fielded by wicked politicians, I’m more concerned by the success enjoyed by our politicians in spinning their fear meme; to the point where we seem to have totally lost our perspective.

George Bush deliberately invoked the “war on terror” & the horror of 911 to justify his illegal pre-emptive attack on Iraq. In the wake of the Bali bombing that killed 88 Australians, John Howard said that: “Australia stands ready to fight in a worldwide war on terrorism, including any military action against Iraq”. Our illustrious Prime Minister went on to declare that the war on terrorism was (his government’s) “first priority”.

But where’s our sense of perspective?

The major terrorist attacks against the “coalition of the willing” over the past five years - horrible & criminal as they were - resulted in the deaths of less than 3,500 people. In comparison, the invasion of Iraq has destroyed one of the world’s oldest civilizations & the lives of more than 100,000 of its people. Meanwhile, five years on from the commencement of the endless “war on terror”, the alleged mastermind behind the 911 attack - that precipitated the latest “world war” - remains free & we are, by all reports, less safe today than when it started.

All the more ironic that one of the consequences of the failed war on terror is the very loss of our democratic rights & freedoms that Bush, Blair & Howard continually argue that they are trying to protect.

So let’s try to regain our perspective.

In the five years since 911, less than 200 Australians have perished at the hands of the “evildoers”. Tragic as this is, compare that number to the 10,000 fatalities that have occurred on our roads; the 6,000 fatalities that have resulted from traffic pollution; the 180,000 deaths that have resulted from cancer; the 1,250 deaths from drowning; the 250,000 deaths from heart disease & the 1,300 murders committed in our so-called peaceful, law-abiding society. And no war has been declared against any of these fatal threats to our safety.

Notwithstanding the “terror” that these statistics should invoke, our politicians seem entirely preoccupied with the need to amass dictatorial powers, justified entirely by a statistically small threat & underwritten by a hysterical campaign of fear. We might well ask where are the sensational political & media campaigns about the 500,000 violent fatalities that have quietly devastated our society, whilst our political leaders strutted their stuff over the war on terror? Where are the political initiatives designed to keep us safe from these far more monstrous threats to our well-being?

And whilst our evening news bulletins & the radio talk-back shock-jocks keep our trembling arses glued to the edge of our seats, why not try to build a better perspective by considering some of the enduring terrors that confront our world: terrors that make “the war on terror” an obscene joke.

On the day that al-Qaeda allegedly brought down the symbols of America’s financial might, murdering 3,000 people in the process, 24,000 people across the world died from hunger, whilst 6,000 children perished from diarrhoea & nearly 3,000 from measles.

And whilst most Australians tremble in fear at the potential threat represented to our society by “Jihad Jack”: followed, watched & scrutinised every waking moment by the all-seeing eyes of ASIO, Special Branch & the State & Federal Police - not to forget our fearless media - let’s not forget that 149 million children in the world are suffering from malnutrition, whilst 1.1 billion people are denied access to safe drinking water & 2.4 billion people lack adequate sanitation.

And if all these numbers seem somewhat surreal & fail to broaden your perspective, consider the fact that 3,000,000 Australian citizens, including 750,000 children, currently live below the poverty line: all beneficiaries of John Howard’s “aspirational prosperity”.

Whilst our warrior politicians feel free to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at our defence forces, secret police & foreign military adventures, that succeed only in multiplying the number of those who hate us, perhaps it’s time for us to be less fearful & more thoughtful about the world we live in & what is being done by our government to take away our freedom.

The fact that our legal system has been transformed over the past few years to allow 1,000 year-old principles of justice to be overturned represents a far greater danger to our safety & security than does Jihad Jack.

That the cornerstones of our judicial system, including legal principles such as the presumption of innocence; the right to confront one’s accusers; the right to legal representation; the right to a speedy & fair trial, conducted by an independent judiciary; the right to know & to be able to challenge alleged evidence & to be protected by the rules of evidence; the right not to be charged with offences that were not illegal at the time that they were allegedly committed: all universal principles of justice, painstakingly evolved & crafted to the benefit of all free men in western liberal democracies – a profound legacy of Magna Carta – are being chucked-out the window by Jihad Johnnee, allegedly to “keep us safe”, should be our greatest fear.