A Letter to John Howard Well known Australian vegan poet and activist John Kinsella’s letter to Prime Minister Howard: On Sedition Mr Howard

John Kinsella

for the sake of the nation

you must jail me immediately:

I am a pacifist and opposed to armies.

I speak out against the military. I encourage desertion. I encourage

retreat from the recruitment offices.

This is sedition.

Mr Howard

for the sake of the nation you must jail me immediately:

I am a vegan and opposed to the slaughter of animals.

I speak out against the meat industry. I encourage vegetable-eating. I encourage boycotts of vivisecting cosmetic companies.

This is sedition.

Mr Howard

for the sake of the nation you must jail me immediately:

I am an anarchist and am against big government.

I speak out against bureaucracy. I encourage

small community living. I encourage independent

thinking and self-determination.

This is sedition.

Mr Howard

for the sake of the nation

you must jail me immediately:

I am a supporter of indigenous land-rights.

I speak out against theft. I encourage

the return of land and I encourage apology

and compensation for all that's been stolen.

This is sedition.

Mr Howard

for the sake of the nation

you must jail me immediately:

I am on the side of the refugees.

I am against bigotry. I encourage

pluralistic societies. I encourage Asian

migration and believe one religion is as good as another.

This is sedition.

Mr Howard

for the sake of the nation

you must jail me immediately:

your way of life is not my way of life.

Your Australia is not my Australia. I speak

of Australia's shame publicly, I speak of

it when travelling the world.

This is treason.

John Kinsella