Defy the might of a whole unjust empire

I was recently looking for quotes about diversity and during this search I came across this quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi:

"It is possible for a single individual to defy the whole might of an unjust empire to save his honor, his religion, his soul, and lay the foundation for that empire’s fall or its regeneration."

It perhaps sounds dramatic but it sent a shiver up my spine.

Day after day I scan news blogs, not because I want to know about the news, but because I feel naked without having at least a passing familiarity with what is happening in the world; what politicians, and bureaucrats, journalists, and business tycoons are doing in my name and in the names of my fellow citizens, including you.

I can really only speak with some authority of Australia - my one-time home. And in my opinion if there is anything Australia needs right now it is one or more people to defy what I now percieve as an unjust empire.

Let's not make this a political debate with it's inevitable 'sides' of Labor, Liberals, Greens and self-interested independents; let's not make it an intellectual debate in which esoteric ideas become the focus rather than on the reality.

Let's think and talk about the people governing Australia, the bureaucrats that draft and administer regulations, the judiciary that sit in judgement, and the news media producers and their journalists, educators and corporate decision-makers; lets talk about the Australia they are crafting for tomorrow's generations.

Again I have only Australia to use as an example but our nation is held hostage by fractious minorities. Our budget is being held to ransom and essential savings cannot be made because self-interested and self-serving rogue politicians - probably rogues - representing their personal interests and those of a handful of the electorate. The government has made promises it cannot keep - not because it was dishonest but rather because it is naive. Law enforcement is weak and has become the refuge of criminals rather than the wronged. Children have never been more educated and yet less capable. The reporters of news have become manipulators of news. Our corporations, in pursuit of profits, have lost sight of a fair wage; and workers have lost sight of delivering a fair day's work. 

Where is honour in all this?

If in their minds those responsible for all this can see no lack of honour - then god help Australia. 

Winston Churchill said "The empires of the future are the empires of the mind"; without honour in the forefront of our minds then Australia's future - and perhaps that of other first world nations - will be ghettos and gulags.

Which of us will defy the might of a whole unjust empire? Perhaps it's up to aging warriors to show the way?

Image - the main character from the movie V for Vendetta:

From Wikipedia: Following world war, London is a police state occupied by a fascist government, and a vigilante known only as V uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressors of the world in which he now lives. When V saves a young woman named Evey from the secret police, he discovers an ally in his fight against England's oppressors.