The last two weeks of Parliament have been dispiriting. We have the right to expect that when our representatives gather in Parliament they will discuss what matters to Australian society and to human beings. That they should waste their time talking about a radio announcer, the party leaders' appeal to the other sex, and the sexual behaviour of one of their members is a betrayal of whatever trust we have in them.
Whatever primary school children may talk about behind the school toilets, we would expect them to attend in class to what matters more seriously than politicians have done in Parliament.
Such self-indulgence has consequences. It breeds cynicism, the belief that what we have seen recently in Parliament is all there is. It encourages us to believe that a sufficient explanation of why policies are adopted and executed can be found by asking whom politicians hate, who is in bed with whom, and who has paid off whom. If that were all there is, then it would not matter that Parliament is scripted like a reality show.
It does matter, though, because Parliament holds up a mirror to our society. Cynicism is not destructive simply because it makes us accept bad behaviour as normal. Even worse, it makes us automatically dismiss any acts of apparent generosity or self-sacrifice. Instead of admiring and being encouraged by them, we immediately ask what were their real and base motivations. We assume that public life is a moral wasteland in which ethics are relevant only as a source of tropes for spin.
Once cynicism reigns in our view of public life we almost necessarily lose sight of what really matters: human dignity. When we are convinced that public conversation and the development of policy reflect only politicians' private agendas, it becomes painful to look steadily at the faces of those who are the victims of public policies. It is easier to look away and to become detached. Respect and honour are reserved for our private lives.
There is a close connection between respect for human dignity and dignified and respectful behaviour in Parliament. The former means that each human being is precious and is not to be used as an end to others' goals.