The humour in Andrew Hornery’s entertaining piece about trying to stay young belies a huge melancholy in our society (“Pressure to look ‘hot’ is taking the joy out of getting older”, May 28). Ageing is not acceptable. We fight it and pretend it’s not happening to us and the lengths to which we go to maintain the semblance of youth must be, as Hornery points out, exhausting. The trend has unfortunately become mainstream, driven by the relentless and ugly force of social media, with some ageing faces stripped of any signs of personality or uniqueness, looking like cold smooth marble which is presumably admired and to be coveted. We used to revere our elders, their authenticity and the values they stood for. Now it seems we are tagging along on the coat tails of the younger generation, gracelessly and desperately trying to be what we are not. Quite frankly it’s degrading to the essence of ageing and makes me ashamed.
Judy Finch, Taree
Parental responsibility
Finally, the statistics reveal the depth of the problem in chronic student absences (“School days missed hit record high”, May 28). When school students live in a culture where taking the day of school when it’s their birthday, with parent support, the elephant in the room is placed directly in front of us - parental responsibility in the education process. As we look at our educational performance among other nations the attitude to school attendance by our students is crucial. Their own motivation to succeed in the education process determines success and ultimately a better society for all of us. Schools use strategies such as breakfast programs and individual bus pick up from the front door, but it is still the family that needs to support the desire to be better educated. One day a fortnight translates to 20 days a year - that’s a month of school days. Minister Prue Car is to be commended for identifying the problem in a public forum.
Robert Mulas, Corlette
Important choice
Calling out the mob is spot on (“Mob mentality infects society”, May 28). But mobs are groups of people imitating each other. We are not as autonomous as we think. Education, literature, and advertising require imitation, as do all human advances. Public figures are seen as fair game on social media for people who want to alleviate their own chaos by attacking others, or who just enjoy copying viciousness anonymously. So easy to throw a stone when someone else has done it first. But people can also mimic decency. As imitation is inevitable and contagious, perhaps the most important choice we all have is to decide who to imitate.
Susan Connelly, Lakemba
Parnell Palme McGuiness rightly deplores the trolls from both left and right who attack individuals through vicious online personal attacks. What she fails to do is acknowledge that much of the recent attack on Stan Grant was manufactured by right-wing media. In failing to mention that salient fact, she lets the main culprit off the hook. Yes, we who are outside the tent need to be more civil in our own utterances. However, journalists must also reflect on their own responsibilities.
Brian Everingham, Engadine
Hotel follies
It is unbelievable that during this difficult economic time, the Liberal Party Senate selection voting was held recently at the Fullerton Hotel, a five-star hotel (“Kovacic beats Constance in Senate vote”, May 28). Yet Peter Dutton and his shadow cabinet continue to bleat about cost of living issues.
Peng Ee, Castle Cove
Winter meltdown
Your story is bad news for both snow sport devotees and resorts (“Slippery slope for ski resorts in climate battle”, May 28). To quote Climate Council research director, Dr Martin Rice, “If we are going to protect our winter sports, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Failure to do so could end the beloved ski season”. If the Albanese government continues to support the fossil fuel industry and genuflect to its king, the gas companies; and large economies such as China, India and the USA continue down the fossil fuel path, there is little or no hope of saving Australia’s – or the world’s – snow sports resorts.
Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin (ACT)
Vivid problems
The ticket prices for the Vivid installation in the Royal Botanic Gardens have obviously been sufficiently high to deter many people and effectively contribute to rising inequality (“For free or not for free, that is the question”, May 28). Most of us pay tax to maintain these public assets, but those less well off are frozen out of the experience. This is completely unacceptable. Such events should be funded totally by sponsors and free for all to enjoy.
Geoff Harding, Chatswood
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