Harry Heidelberg is a Webdiary columnist.

 

About 2 weeks ago I had a dream where JOHN HOWARD was the central figure. I remember waking up and thinking �how bizarre�.

I’ve never had a dream before where a public figure is involved. Usually it is friends, family, work colleagues, or I guess what you would call ‘composite’ characters, but never a public figure.

The Howard dream wasn�t significant except that he was bloody in my head while I was sleeping. I AM NOT SO SURE I LIKE THAT!

As far as I can remember, the substance of the dream was that I was fighting with him verbally. It wasn�t about politics and for the life of me, I can�t remember now exactly what it was about. It was endless rounds of him telling me what to do and me refusing.

Anyway, I hope him or anyone else like him never reappears in my sleeping hours. I really don�t want to start dreaming about politics.

The dream I had an hour or two ago was more bizarre. It had in it terrorism, ethics and politics. This is now the SECOND time in a couple of weeks with public affairs in a dream. I was one of the good guys (what a surprise). It started with me being the leader of a mission in counter terrorism. There were terrorists on board a plane and my mission became to blow them up. All the planning was going along fine and I was happy with what we were doing.

Then part way through I started worrying. I said, “This bomb is going to pierce the fuselage� yes it will kill the terrorists but��it will also bring the whole bloody plane down.”

To my HORROR, they all looked at me as if I was some kind of na�ve child. It was said that I needed to think about “the message we are sending”. So in the end I was being sent on a suicide mission where either the terrorists would blow up the plane or I would blow it up. Somehow it was “sending the right message” if I did it.

I don�t normally have nightmares but I think this qualifies.

Then there was this extraordinary chase. I was running all around the world but they kept reappearing. It wasn�t like I was under arrest or something, more like, “Well the flight is about to depart, do you have everything ready or not?”. Then somehow I would escape from them to another city and they would reappear again. London, Zurich. Prague and Berlin…

In between times I kept ending up at an Australian beach place which was a composite of Terrigal, Byron Bay and Pt Lookout (Stradbroke Island). I�d be with friends at a WONDERFUL outdoor area behind a house and we�d be having a great lunch etc etc. The phone would ring, and the doorbell, and I�d keep saying JUST IGNORE IT.

Then they would catch up with me and I�d be back in Europe again, pretending to be getting ready for the flight, even though I was determined that I would NEVER take that flight.

I�m not sure what the message is but the initial premise for the whole thing is interesting. There is a plan I agree with it but I am duped. The plan makes no moral or ethical sense. Then I run from it but somehow there is no proper resolution. The dream ends with me still running. As long as I don�t board the flight I am OK? Who knows.

I can say one thing – I do NOT appreciate having public affairs now in my dreams! I suppose it is a reflection of the state of the world. Perhaps I�m not the only person for whom the public sphere is suddenly interfering with my private sphere.

I don�t like these things to be in my subconscious. It’s scary.