Indigenous woman have the highest proportion of University graduates than any other group of people in Audtralia.

We might well ask the likes of Marcia Langton to share their thoughts of modern day Indigenous Culture and of the day to day activities of Indigenous peoples rather than assume this marvellous culture is maintained as it existed 30,000 20,000 10,000 or even 1 thousand years ago.

I tend towards the thought, maybe incorrectly, the Indigenous culture survives because it has adapted over a great period to circumstances and events it confronts.

I think we may be watching it doing just that ... again ... right now.

I hope people don't allow Rosie Williams's negativity and apparent sadness about things she has no control over ruin their Australia Day. It must be awful for an ordinary Australian,who has probably done no harm to anyone, to feel the way she does.

Australia Day 2010: Celebration AND Criticism the key to ‘moving forward’ together! This essay – at ‘Left Focus’ looks at the reasons for pride on Australia Day – but also the need to heed the lessons of history; and to respect the rights of all Australians in the context of a liberal, democratic and multi-cultural social democracy…

I'm posting this here as unfortuately I left it too late to submit for Australia Day itself... Hoping I get some readers and some comments anyway...

see:

http://leftfocus.blogspot.com/2010/01/australia-day-2010-celebration-and.html

sincerely,

Tristan

Australia Day is a crock. Can anyone tell me what exactly we have to be proud of? We're arsy bastards in a lucky country and we've got the gall to pat ourselves on the back over it. In my area I have rednecks flying their Australian flipping flags right next to their wimdmills and the tawdry selfish lives they live inside. Their in their seventh heaven on Australia Day. What do you reckon would happen if I hoisted the aboriginal flag--and I'm a white aussie? There'd be a ritual burning! Or bricks through the window at least.
The whole patriotic extravaganza, a giant piss-up that demeans what genuine achievements have been made, makes me want to puke.
Tell your friends sitting by the river, Rosie, to be patient; the white scourge is a passing rash that will be no more than a colourful episode in the dreamtime.

Mitchell,

Where to start with you...

You pretty much sum up your internal contradictions with "Can anyone tell me what exactly we have to be proud of?" and "a giant piss-up that demeans what genuine achievements have been made".

Personally I would count democracy as one of the major credits on the balance sheet (to quote Prof. Blainey). In fact, your little rant reminded me exactly what he meant when he spoke of the "black armband view of history".

I'd be more than happy to debate with you the positive and negatives of European settlement in Australia. Otherwise, I'm sure an Australian like yourself will easily be able to migrate to one of those other wonderful countries which have no negative aspects to their history....go on name one

Stezza,
I wasn't so much being contradictory as offering the concession that perhaps there have been "achievements" worthy of national pride--though I can't actually think of anything, apart from monumental engineering programmes like the Snowy. My rhetorical question, "what exactly do we have to be proud of" was meant to question our so-called Australian values, our way of life and our aspirations. "Democracy" you cite as an achievement, another sacred cow, along with Australia Day, that no one's allowed to criticise. And that's the problem with our national days and the institutions we're 'obliged' to take pride in---patriotism censors just criticism. Either get on the bandwagon and party, or be damned!
Have a look at this short article by Marieke Hardy yesterday and tell me what Australia day is all about: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/25/2800086.htm?site=thedrum
Incidentally, I don't claim that any other country has anything especially to take pride in. Nationalism needs no justification, it's instinctively a reaffirmation of sovereignty, an aggressive parochialism--that's why the aboriginal flag is not tolerated and ours is held sacred. There's nothing sacred about the flag, in fact its used to cover a host of sins. Samuel Johnson said that patriotism was the last refuge of a scoundrel, but Gore Vidal said "no. It's the first!"
You imply of course that I ought to migrate. How predictable! Maybe you should get one of the T shirts Marieke talks about?