[spoken]
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8 March 1998
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dear mr prime minister,
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to be honest, im kind of disgusted with the state of this country and i am
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holding you directly responsible.
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ive got no diseases, no obvious birthmarks, im not black, im not female,
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sure im jewish, but basically im a straight white male, and i still cant
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understand why there is even a feather left for me to ruffle.
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mr prime minister, im queasy every time i read the newspaper.
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i read about the new flag the country is demanding and whether our emblem
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should contain a southern cross or not and i cant believe its even worth
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the discussion. i want to see a giant penis on our flag. i want it made of
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velvet and encased in glitter.
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i want a flag that is worthy of a solid burning.
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i want to know why isnt our prime minister a homosexual? i was personally
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more interested in whether or not paul keating grabbed the queens arse
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than any of the issues that you seem to be tackling. mr prime minster, why
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do you always wear black and grey? are you hiding something? are you
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afraid of us?
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i still cant believe there is a feather left for me to ruffle.
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i want to know why there are american accents all over my television set.
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as far as im concerned, kant is a german philosopher. why do all
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australian rock musicians sing in american accents? why are there no
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australian rock musicians?
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mr prime minister, why doesnt australia have a black panther party?
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where is our bob dylan?
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where is our andy warhol?
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why do you make me sound like a third rate allen ginsberg?
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dont answer me.
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what do you know about poetry anyway.
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why dont we learn anything in school? perhaps that was a sweeping
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generalization but i just finished twelve years of it and i know how to
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spell your name but cannot be bothered to write it down.
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why am i so ashamed of where i am from? i sit up all night watching
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infomercials and parliamentary sessions and i cannot think of one reason
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to travel to canberra. i am waiting for you to wear pink. mr prime
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minister, when are you going to give me a fucking break?
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i want to see you dancing in spastic glee outside an islamic shrine, or
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hard copy footage of you caught doing naughty things in kings cross, and i
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want to say i knew it right away!
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why do you bore me?
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every time i walk out the front door, i think you have sent men to watch
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me in unmarked cars. and i havent even done anything. yet.
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mr prime minister, im as ready as you are.
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get me some glamour, mr prime minister, some escapism. i want to know why
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we still havent settled the aboriginal land right issue. ill give up my
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house right now, if you will put an end to this. we all know this isnt
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really our home. lets stop kidding around.
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mr prime minister, mr hand is tired. i havent slept for five days, ive
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been waiting up for reruns of good morning america and i think you have
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forgotten about me.
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when did we become a colony?
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mr prime minister, im restless.
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mr prime minister, i dont like the state we are in, and im holding you
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directly responsible.
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your friend,
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benjamin michael lee
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-----------------
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Open Letter to the Prime Minister (Previously Unreleased)
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Ben Lee |