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| A rose by any other name... |
Australia Date????
Australia Day celebration on the 26th January has come under dispute because Australian indigenous people are offended that this day is celebrated on the day that Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into what he called Sydney Cove on this date in 1788.I am not in favour of changing the day. Would Jan 27th be appropriate or Sept 8th? I don't think the date is the problem, there would always be someone who would be offended. It has been a long time since 1788 and a lot has changed for all people.
As I have said in another post, the French were just behind the British and this would have been a French colony. Maybe the Dutch or Spanish would have come close behind also. My point is that the land after 1788 was going to change. I also think that indigenous people have benefited from Australian tax dollars for a long time.
I am going to be facetious but don't shouldn't we be offended that given all the help that Aboriginals are getting (although many of them have taken advantage of funding and advantages only reserved for them) some of them still complain: still turn local councils into political outlets by banning Australia Day; still take millions and millions of tax dollars for their communities and only the elders benefit and never seem to improve their people's situation; that the schools in Aboriginal communities are not used properly and most children don't even turn up; that the NT is a used car yard of cars used up and just dumped, not looked after. That people try to help them with housing and the house only lasts as long as the need for the bits inside last i.e. they make a fire with the floor boards, this happened in my street so I have firsthand knowledge.
I understand that Aboriginals have a completely different culture to Western, but can't they use some of the tax dollars and mark out land in the middle of a territory and designate it for their culture and can walk about in it, but surrounding this land build communities that at least assimilate into civilization. The elders should allow towns with houses; schools and infrastructure that they build and maintain. Aboriginals really need to be more pro-active.
Nothing is the way we want it to be for the most part, you just have to take what is good and be glad. I like that we have a rich history, good and bad, and we can celebrate all people groups that call Australia home now on the 26th of January.
There are 364 other days we can celebrate what's great about Australia. I don't believe changing the date is about being politically correct. It's about taking an opportunity to love our neighbour.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous you are a very loving person and loving our neighbour is a Christian commandment. I disagree with you about this not being politically correct. The change the date or not celebrating Australia Day is politically motivated. One council (rates, roads and rubbish - not Aboriginal activism) in Melbourne banned Australia Day in sympathy of the Aboriginals living in their district. The Aboriginals that were consulted didn’t live in that area. Banning Australia Day became an issue and it gained ground.
ReplyDeleteThere is an underlying motive behind this activism and I am outraged. Cultural Marxism (CM) is pitting the so called oppressors against the oppressed, making the victims always right. They want us to be ashamed of being part of a western culture. They pit the rich against the poor; black against white; homosexuals against heterosexuals; men against women; right to life against right to choose; conservatives against liberal philosophy (Ben Shapiro says that liberals don't create anything, they wait for the conservatives to build up and then they tear it down and divide the spoils); Christians with mercy against Christians with “weeping” prophecy.
We, Australians (Judeo-Christian foundation) are giving away our heritage away one brick at a time. Once CMs get up to 60% of the population rioting and protesting then they can change the democratic constitution of that country. Given the previous year: SSM; then without a blink, Euthanasia; (Un)Safe Schools - confusing our children and destroying their innocence which they can never get back; ruining Christmas by curtailing decorations on the street; councils boycotting Australia Day; and now the Aboriginals wanting to change the day or abolish it altogether, as I am sure changing the date is not the end game.
I look at each of these issues and wonder how much we have given ground to accommodate these so called victims. I also wonder how much more will be demanded. These might be considered improvements to make Australia better but I see each of these as an erosion of our foundation as something has to change. If this foundation is eroded further and destroyed, there will be nothing left to give; nothing left to accommodate; we will be the oppressed and who will fight for us then? We won't be able to recognise Australia as home.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price speaks well on the subject and she speaks of being adult and forgiving (The Drum ABC 8th Jan 2018). Every culture has changed over the years and we might lament the good old days but we have to see what is good and build on that. I don't agree that Indigenous people have lost culture - many still have their traditions and celebrate them, even Christian indigenous people. I read in the 1920's and 30's parliamentarians made sure that as far as government was concerned they wanted to protect the purity of the Aboriginal people. (An article in The Australian-Flawed history keeps myth alive about the Stolen Generations by Keith Windschuttle). Supporters of the move to change the date say that the individual Aborigines face ongoing disadvantage - what are they comparing this to? Aborigines are given every opportunity to succeed but it is their culture that disadvantages them. I have a friend who is a missionary in the NT and the children don't go to school because of one reason or another, the elders don't force them and truancy is a problem. Alcohol abuse and family violence is another issue that should be dealt with by their own elders because Western methods do not work. The Australian government sends a lot of money to the elders in the community. A system that may have to be reviewed because if you are saying they have ongoing disadvantages then assigning money, resources and Western methods to them does not help. I have relatives who are Native Americans and they have told me a bit of their history. Before western civilization came there were peaceful tribes and warring tribes, there was constant upheaval and unrest. I think Aboriginal tribes were similar in the sense that change was inevitable and their customs and traditions would have been influenced by this. It seems that some people are bent on keeping the Indigenous Australians static, like they are part of the flora and fauna. That is why I think Jacinta says that it is a choice to be offended and giving into the offense will only create new avenues to put the balm on a new offense - in other words the one who is always offended will always have more demands - as she says, this is human nature. It is a big topic which will not be fixed by a change of date, because it is time for them to take responsibility for their own situation. We almost have to get out of the way so they can help themselves. This is why I don't think we should cover the pain with a cosmetic band aid by changing the date and only hinder a move towards more constructive change for healing.
ReplyDeleteI also know someone who has done short term mission work in indigenous communities in Port Augusta, and talked about the social problems in there, which are exactly the same that your friend in the NT describes. I totally agree with you that changing the date won't solve these problems.
ReplyDeleteAny reasonable person would have supported the apology to the Stolen Generations. When you apologise for wrongdoing, the wronged party normally forgives them. The past can't be changed, but it seems to me that some people want to hold grudges. When Kevin Rudd gave the apology speech, did he ask for forgiveness on behalf of the nation, and was it given?