you can put it down to luck that we just happen to be here - well, you in Australia and we expats up here in the Philippines - but I'll put it all down to Providence, especially after 1,071 days here and getting through three floods in 2009, but nothing like what happened in Queensland.
Just getting through the chaotic traffic here every day and the close calls I've had, as well as the life I've had tell me I'm not in ultimate charge of my life, much as people who put their faith in 'luck' would believe.

We'll be celebrating Australia Day quietly here, and thank God for all our blessings.

Nice piece Mr Holden

One day we may grow out of

Australia Day

Nothing wrong with Australia Day, Shintaro. Far better than Mitsubishi Day, Zero Day or Bridge over the River Kwai Day.

It's only a small comment and I don't want to rock the boat, but if we are caught in a deterministic web that goes back to the beginning of time (if any), doesn't that mean we have no free will? We're just robots caught in a cause and event trap.

So much for free will and agency. It's pretty much a kiss off to Marxism and all the 'isms' which prioritise liberty and egalitarianism.

Even so, I like Brian's take on deep time.

Shintaro - beware the Spider Ninja!

You have it right Mr Holden - humanity is one, it is only the widespread consciousness of this fact that is missing. But this is changing. Once accepted and taken to heart, we are able to put all our inherited prejudices aside - of race, colour, ethnicity, status, class, nationality, politics, gender, religion etc. Without the recognition of this single fact, humanity has no long term meaningful future on this one small interdependent fragile planet. We are all part of one great historical cycle, from a starting point of one, through dispersion and disunity, and now humanity is coming back to global unity again. We need to recognise this dynamic fact and stop resisting and putting stumbling blocks in the way with all the prejudices, bigotry, fanaticism, hatreds, violence and suffering that accompany them.

"Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. We cherish the hope that the light of justice may shine upon the world and sanctify it from tyranny. If the rulers and kings of the earth, the symbols of the power of God, exalted be His glory, arise and resolve to dedicate themselves to whatever will promote the highest interests of the whole of humanity, the reign of justice will assuredly be established amongst the children of men, and the effulgence of its light will envelop the whole earth."

(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 218)

Graham Nicholson

So basically what you are saying is that we should be thankful to the 8am tram, a phone call, or a newspaper article, for our existence, but not to a group of people who decided to democratically elect leaders to utilize their collective wealth to provide public transport, telecommunications and a free press?

That said this is better than the usual articles put out before Australia day, attacking all of the negative aspects of nationalism,without a thought of any of the positive aspects of having a nation of out own. Generally I agree with you, and these ideas are becoming more widespread with global communications. However, you need to understand that these people who partake in "puerile flag-waving and anthem-singing on Australia Day" are just normal folks enjoying a day off with their families and more often than not are more than happy to include anyone regardless of nationality.

By the way mitochondrial eve is thought to have lived over 200,000 years ago, and for the purposes of the article, perhaps you should have mentioned humans most recent common ancestor who lived aprox 5000 years ago.

I understand where you're coming from, and certainly agree that the bonds of humanity ought to be stronger than the bonds of nationhood. While I was initially irritated by your characterisation of 'flag-waving and anthem-singing' as puerile, I certainly cannot deny you your opinion. I simply don't agree with it.

I don't think there is anything wrong with being proud of your nation and, having lived in three countries and visited many more, I can say with some authority that Australians have much to be proud of.

Groups of humans gather at many levels to celebrate what they have in common. Macquarie University, where I am a postgrad student (though I've only set foot on campus once), has its Conception Day. It is about as sacred as Australia Day - it's a celebration of Macquarie, but also simply an opportunity for Macquarie to celebrate. As a teacher, I've also been a part of many 'X Days', where X is the name of the school. Students and staff gather to celebrate what they see as great about their school. They don't (usually) claim that each great thing is unique to them, but they do acknowledge the unique combination of these generic great things. There's no harm in that, as long as it doesn't descend to denigrating others - which it usually doesn't.

My point is that identifying and celebrating our role as members of a national community does not necessarily disconnect us from our broader community. Just as those schoolkids will go on to celebrate Australia Day, relevant state 'days of celebration' (conspicuously absent on the Queensland public holiday calendar) and celebrations on a more global level. I don't see the harm in identifying ourselves as part of a community, and celebrating that community symbolically with flags and anthems, as long as the community doesn't fully supplant our greater humanity.