In the local Sydney paper over the weekend, the op-ed column was headed “A time for reflection,” which I thought was nice except that the world would probably be in a much better place if we took time to reflect for the other 51 weeks of the year. Sorry, better make that 50 because Christmas also seems to be the other popular time for reflection.

In response to the article, I took some time myself to reflect on where we are in our world and what the world has suffered for want of reflection for most of the year.

There are still asylum-seekers “imprisoned” in holding centers in outback Australia. Most of them are there because they chose to flee repressive regimes and the fear of death. So they came to Australia, an enlightened Western democracy, and must wonder at times if it is not another repressive regime.

The U.S. also has its own detention center at Guantanamo Bay. I decided to Google and see what the latest news was on the center for suspects in the “war on terror.” In the Salt Lake Tribune for Tuesday, March 29th, there is a report of a member of the Utah Guard who has volunteered to serve at Guantanamo Bay. Colonel Blackner was quoted as saying, “It was important to me to be able to contribute to the fight against terrorism,” he said. “The mission here is critical to the success of this fight.”

Is the mission of Guantamo Bay “critical” to the fight against terrorism? If we take time to reflect on the past year or so, is there not a great deal of injustice being dealt out under the guise of the so-called war on terror?

What about life in Iraq? I’m sure the Iraqi population has had plenty of time to reflect on life after Saddam. Perhaps if America and Britain had formulated a plan for a reconstruction of Iraq before the events, rather than as events unfolded, then maybe the saga of Iraq wouldn’t be in the quagmire it is now.

We have also witnessed photos, in the past 12 months, of American and British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. Oh, of course there were murmurs of discontent from some politicians, but what reflection has this caused for the proud Western nations, the defenders of democracy and justice?

Perhaps, as I get older, I am becoming more cynical, but as I read the op-ed over the weekend, I was struck by just how little our governing institutions really do reflect. Blame and excuse-making seem to take the place of critical reflection. Maybe if a few of us take time to regularly reflect and act upon our deliberations throughout the year, we might be able to build the foundations of a thoughtful, just democracy that is collaborative not just in principle but in practice.