“Public opinion can never exist as a power in the state, unless there exist also persons who expose to hatred and contempt those ministers and those laws which they conceive to be detrimental to the interests of the community.” – ‘Yellow Dwarf, 1818.’

Not so easy in the Lucky Country at present is it? Everyone locked down debating the merits of fascism (or as the King prefers, demockracy), afraid to go out to see their friends, their cohorts. Your ABC a government notice board; all fictions, redactions and obfuscations.

But wait! Out in the regions – well not really the regions, the regions as advertised to the lucky people (the real regions, the refugee confinement zones are a few hundred ks west yet!). Here in the neo-regions they’re not having a bar of this social distancing crap. Sure sure there are signs up in the malls and supermarkets, barriers, spilt disinfectant bottles everywhere, spots, crosses and directives all over the floors and walls, prefects for our every inconvenience – yet, no one’s having a bar of it. Kids and dribbling babies and teenage mums and more teenage mums (we really should stop paying people to produce) and rubbish and hoops and hollars and … Oops, another vomitting wandering child. One of the beauties of the Aussie climate, one could say, and this is something I don’t think even a fascist future will change, is that our kids, seemingly, only have to pass 1.5m apart from each other and another mouth to feed is gifted to the world.

Yep. Out here one can still find the spirit of Australia. True character, and guess what you suburbanites? … They’re sharing it! All sizes, all colours and all types.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen kids and parents using ovals and parks, ignoring the signs of immanent danger … I’ve stayed here plenty of times over the years and always looked across these magnificent playing fields and wondered where have all the children gone? Why these big open spaces are so dangerous now when previously they were havens of safety? Perhaps it’s Mum and Dad, lazier now (.perhaps busier), just want to watch TV and eat fried up food and hey, since all the signs down there in the old school character yard say, CAN’T, then may as well not.

But, not now! Now, an old fella like me can breathe in a bit of the air again. The kids are in overdrive. They’re experiencing the outdoors; bikes, kites, and balls and bats and dogs and boomarangs and spears and arrows, and all sizes and shapes and colours and they’re mingling and bumping and falling and its just so wonderful to see this again. Just like when we were young. Here’s three young chicks slapping hockey balls up against the fence – bet that would be a no no in a healthy world – .. good stuff. So refreshing. Almost smells like Democracy.

They’re growing old school Wallabies and Baggy Green’s out here. Kids that may have a chance of surviving a head cold or a broken leg or, with a little luck, a bout with fascism.

And fishing. The river bank’s crawling with teenagers fishing – so they say, may the gods bless em. Not that I’m sayin’ that they’re not fishin’, its just when we were their age and were fucking around in the dark on the river bank … We’ll we weren’t fishin’. Of course, we didn’t get paid to have children back then either, know what I mean … I have noticed of course that this Universal Wage is probably a bit of a boon to the ‘illegal’ drug dealers; but what the hey, may as well experience the life of a politician for a little – might we not? – its not as though we’re going to really experience what its like to rob one’s country blind; we’re not getting the pensions and the perks. All the little vices shared around a little more evenly – the kids’ll get used to this. And the parents! All that time and space to spend with, and to teach, our children; just like the ideal humanity has been working toward this past 500 years.

And the cops? There are plenty of cops about with their paddy wagons and their whistles and their guns but they’re not wading in amongst this lot – no chance. History tells em just what a job a mob of free and equitable Aussies can do on a draconian state policeman. Yeah, yeah, Pistol Pete won’t like this but his men in black aren’t all fools … Not yet – He’ll need to ensure they are though … and, he’ll need to do it before his king takes back all his free dosh. Oh joy!

“Slavery and freedom, poverty and wealth, war and peace are not properties of nature, but only human arrangements.” – Lucretius.

Yu Can Too is the ‘Inside Fascism’ foreign correspondent for Inner Australia. She hopes next week to be able to cover the Refugee Zones, for which she assures us, she is adequately protected, having had a plywood Ned Kelly suite made up for the Taser nuts and an unopened box of tissues. You’ll be right darlin’.