It’s been a weird week in Australian politics.
We had a spill on Tuesday, then we didn’t have a spill Wednesday, and now we’re having another one.
I’m not sure how I feel, but here’s my best stab at it: I’m trying to remain hopeful, while doing absolutely nothing to prevent any kind of major catastrophe, and I just hope it all blows over and the good people of this country are left to go about their business.
If the plan sounds familiar, it’s because it’s pretty much Homer’s plan for The Simpsons family when Bart’s Comet is headed straight towards Springfield.
A perfect plan
Ahh… doesn’t that feel better?
If my time as a registered voter has taught me anything, it’s that no matter how spackled with scat this country’s political landscape can get, there’s going to be a soothing Simpsons reference that will drop my blood pressure and help me better explain the political climate.
And I’m not the only one.
While Canberra goes into full melt-down mode, and pubs across the country fire-up with misread news takes and volatile opinions, the internet sticks to what the internet does best: sledging the squares in power.
Credit: Lane Sainty
As you can see, sometimes, when our pollies make the least amount of sense to us, the only way we can really wrap our minds around the situation, is to compare it to a familiar Simpsons reference.
For example, nothing better distils the murk and muckiness of this sudden situation quite like the perfect picture of an open-water monkey knife fight.
Credit: Ben
See?!
And I’m yet to find a better representation of some MPs switching their preference towards new leaders, than with Kent Brockman’s new-found love of flying space ants…
How it seems to be all going down. Credit: David #auspol #libspill pic.twitter.com/p3vQMqXpB3
— Simpsons vs Liberals (@SimpsonsVsLibs) August 20, 2018
Or, how could you even try to wrap your brain around the Liberal Party’s decision to bring in a new leader, this close to a possible election?
Don’t worry, The Simpsons have already dealt with this kind of nonsense before:
Source: United Voice
So, the only thing that I’m left pondering is this: are The Simpsons the closest thing we have to a series of collective fables in this modern world, and are therefore the only familiar ground in which we all feel comfortable discussing important events?
Or, in uncertain times, do we simply turn to the soothing comfort of our favourite, childhood cartoon, in order to try and time-travel to a simpler era?
I’m unlikely to figure out a solution today. So, in the meantime, you’ll find me googling “Simpsons Funny” in Giphy and Imgur.
Credit: Bee