Although we love the idea of choice - our culture almost worships it - we seek refuge in the familiar and the comfortable.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

But many researchers operate as if it is their responsibility to demonstrate that video violence has a direct effect on the behaviour of young children, because that will help to explain why society is becoming more violent.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Despite the availability of cheap and effective contraception, it looks as if we are not as careful in our decisions about reproduction as all the talk of family planning might suggest.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Frankly, I'm more worried about the violence we do to ourselves and our children by allowing the media to create an expectation of instant gratification.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

How have we managed to dodge the rather obvious point that happiness only makes sense by contrast with sadness - or perhaps with tedium - and that uncertainty, the very essence of imperfection, is our default position?
- Hugh Mackay Quote

I wish we didn't have to own up to a policy deliberately designed to inflict suffering on people who have already been traumatised in the countries from which they've fled.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Indeed, in the present climate of mistrust of institutions, many people who yearn for a more meaningful and fulfilling life would regard the church as an unlikely place to go for guidance.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Is it possible that literacy standards are falling because young Australians are growing up in a culture in which they can be entertained and informed, and in which they can communicate effectively, without having to master any but the most rudimentary literacy skills?
- Hugh Mackay Quote

It's Australian to do such things because, however uncivilised they may seem, it's human to do them.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

No one welcomes chaos, but why crave stability and predictability?
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Obviously, every child should be given the best possible opportunity to acquire literacy skills.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

On average, Australians watch more than three hours of television a day, compared with 12 minutes a day spent by the average couple talking to each other.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Parents should be encouraged to read to their children, and teachers should be equipped with all available techniques for teaching literacy, so the varying needs and capacities of individual kids can be taken into account.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Reading is a huge effort for many people, a bore for others, and, believe it or not, many people prefer watching TV.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Recounting their histories, people often sound like interested bystanders to their own lives.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Some researchers sensibly suggest that rather than worrying too much about which programs our children are watching, we should concentrate on trying to reduce the total amount of time they spend in front of the screen.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

Still, most of those effects occur in the context of harmless play and it is patently obvious that children are not normally turned into aggressive little monsters by TV or video games, since most children do not become aggressive little monsters.
- Hugh Mackay Quote

The question is, will we continue to fight what may be a rearguard action to defend universal literacy as a central goal of our education system, or are we bold enough to see what's actually happening to our culture?
- Hugh Mackay Quote

The underlying message of the Lancet article is that if you want to understand aggressive behaviour in children, look to the social and emotional environment in which they are growing up, and the values they bring to the viewing experience.
- Hugh Mackay Quote