When cherished myth meets hard reality

April 30, 2026

When cherished myth meets hard reality, myth loses. Today we are watching two myths collapse on top of each other. The first is the myth of US omnipotence. The second is the myth of Israeli righteousness. And the hard reality? That would be Iran. How foolish were we to send their diplomats home?

The current war in the Persian Gulf has reached an impasse begging for an interlocutor. We were manipulated into taking ourselves out of consideration for such a role, but here’s a question. Even if we hadn’t booted the Iranians out, does anyone think the US or Israel, our two besties, would have turned to us for such a sensitive mission? Or have we tugged the forelock too often? Have we tried too long to be like real people from Europe and North America?

There is another hard reality Australia could look at. It has the three factors of geography, climate change and demographics. We not only need a new Foreign Policy, we need a more representative and courageous government. As Asia emerges, we could find ourselves on the outside looking in.