The yearning for strong leadership is more about strength of purpose - clarity of vision - than about merely 'getting tough'.

So, if falling crime rates coincide with the rise of violent video games and increasing violence on TV and at the cinema, should we conclude that media violence is causing the drop in crime rates?

One reason we resist making deliberate choices is that choice equals change and most of us, feeling the world is unpredictable enough, try to minimise the trauma of change in our personal lives.

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

The yearning for strong leadership is more about strength of purpose - clarity of vision - than about merely 'getting tough'.

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.

The thing we need most is each other.