It seems that Australia Day is most important for the usual suspects who get enjoyment out of pointing out what a dreadful country Australia is, whether yapping about ‘invasion day’ or things like how many Indians we are supposed to have killed or maimed.

I don’t observe Australia Day at all. I don’t even get a day of as I am retired. To me, it just means more boring, repetitious rubbish from the loony left (mainly) on their black armband view of our history – no other country did anything wrong it seems, or like Australia, simply did what was right and appropriate for the times.

Australia is steadily and surely being degraded by the politically correct, the self-haters, high immigration and the loss of traditional values.

There is not a lot to celebrate anymore.

Dear Leigh,
Lift your focus. Count your blessings. A merry heart and laughter is a good medicine. Stress and worry kill. Australia hasn't changed only the focus of the people. When I was a kid we had a saying
"winging bloody Poms". Our attitude has replaced the word Pom with Aussie. So count your blessing and be part of the answer.
Richie 10

Leigh: if you read the whole article through you'll see I have a lot of positive things to say about our country as well.

Dear Tristan,

I agree with you - celebration and criticism
are the keys - but more than that - we also
need to continue to search for the truth about
our past in order to have a better understanding
of contemporary Australia.

Very few people today know little about other
cultures living in this country - apart
from their food.

As an editorial in my local newspaper summed up:

"The good will that surrounds Australia Day can
extend to the other 364 days of the year, through
respect for other people, civility; a welcoming
smile; extending the hand of friendship; sharing
celebrations and food. These are simple virtues.
And they are powerful!"

Liz Thompson tells us in her book, "From Somewhere Else,":

"The multicultural nature of Australian society today
means that there is no single national identity but
a gathering of many cultures, and this is one of
the most unique and rewarding aspects of living in
Australia. The nature of being Australian is to be
part of this diversity. The wide and varied gathering
of "identities" is in keeping with the sense of potential
and openness so many people enjoyed on coming here."

Many people feel privileged not only to have been able
to make a home here but also to have found their own
sense of belonging. My family is one of them.

Foxy;

Thanks for your comments. :)) Personally, I like the idea of "overlapping" or "nested" communities.

Preferably we should all feel included in the 'Australian nation' - and have a sense of national community and what that entails. (social solidarity, democratic community, respect for rights)

But that does not make other communities WITHIN the Australian nation less important or preferable.

The Australian nation might factor into all our identities: but also communities within the Australian nation: ethnic, geographical, political, social and cultural interests of many varied sorts.

All these communities are valid within the scope of the Australian nation - and some of these communities are INTERNATIONAL and - fairly enough - go beyond national bounds. International communities are just as important as legitimate as national communities.

But this does not have to mean we go so far as to suppose 'anything goes' in the name of diversity. In instances when there is hatred between individuals from different communities - perhaps grounded in past wars and conflicts - our respect for liberal human rights needs to trump these sentiments. And irrational hatred cannot be accepted as part of an 'anything goes' policy for the sake of diversity.

Dear Tristan,

How refreshing to read a voice of reason -
such as yours!

I totally agree.

Education is the key. Start with the young at
primary school. Counter-act against the teaching
of the "old hatreds," within the home. Teach
kids about other cultures dispel the old myths.
What do most of us know about other cultures -
apart from the food?

I remember my young son coming home from school
one day very upset that his friend Benjamin had
been called a "bad" name. My son asked me what
"slinty-eyes" meant? I said that it was a very
rude way of describing a person of Asian ancestry.
To which my son replied - "Mum, Ben's not Asian,
he's an Aussie, and he's my Friend!"

That said it all!

Tristan,
In 2007 the previous government dropped the term multiculturalism and the present government has continued along the same way. In fact the term multiculturalism is seldom used at all. The reason for this is that finally the politicians realised that MC was a flawed ideology and had failed in that it divided us into tribes, rather than unite us. The slogan 'Unity in Diversity' is simply a big lie. As you pointed out some groups hold long standing hatreds of others and others deliberately flout our laws and social standards. For example with FGM and forced marriages.

I think we should recognise that some groups will not integrate, even after 2-3 generations, and that our society would be better off if we stopped allowing those groups to migrate here.

Early in this governments term, there was talk of 'social inclusion' and was to be headed by the Deputy PM, but have heard nothing of that lately. The term conjures up some interesting thoughts and am wondering if you know anything further?

What foxy said about education being the key is correct, but not teaching kids about other cultures. To keep social harmony, we need to emphasize our social norms and teach Australiana, so that we become one community. If some parents want their kids to know about their heritage then that is their business, it is not the business of our educators.

Banjo:

Again I return to the idea of "nested" and "overlapping" communities.

Multiculturalism can work so long as it is in this context. That the national community is inclusive - and involves recognition and preservation of liberal and democratic principles, and of social rights.

Those same principles are themselves the means of reconciling different cultures within a national and international community.

But yes: this is not an 'anything goes' approach to multiculturalism.

Yes we should recoginise the liberties of citizens: even to say things with which we are uncomfortable. But at the same time a liberal social democracy needs to defend itself as well.

So indeed we need to discourage bigotries and hatreds which comprise a potential threat to liberal social democracy.

Importantly, though: this is not to say migrants must forsake interest in their place of origin; or for it to factor into their indentity; and for them to wish to see justice in the lands of their anscestors.

Tristan,
Firstly, it is good to be able to talk to the author of a posted article and for that I thank you.

I think you may be expecting too much if you think we can simply encourage some ethnic groups to forget their bigottries and hatreds as they have been handed down for many generations. Take the violence between the Croats and Serbs, for example, their hatreds have been going on for generations and even after 3 generations here they are still violent to each other. Third generation Lebs still consider themselves Lebs and not Aussies.

I note that we now have multicultural racial violence. This involves ethnic groups picking on and fighting individuals of another ethnic group. Indian students have been the main victims of this but not exclusively so. A few months ago there was much violence between Sri Lankans which included an home invasion where acid was poured on the victim. I doubt if simple encouragement will stop this.

I notice that you did not touch on 'social inclusion' which I would like to find out more. I have yet to see any practical application.

Could you please expand on what you deem to be 'international communities' as that escapes me. I see only citizens havinmg rights in a county, others are simply visitors and guests.

Banjo: "International Communities" can take many forms - especially in the age of the internet. They can be based on ideology or interest. They could - for instance - take the form of international workers' organisations, or internationally-focused publications and forums. Again these publications and forums could be based on ideology or interest. Or we could refer, here, to international religious communities. Or maybe even a 'community' that arises around games, or music, or any type of shared interest. All these could comprise communities in one sense or another.

For me 'social inclusion' means everyone should 'have a seat at the table'. All manner of interests need to be engaged in the process of making policy. And all manner of communities need to be empowered in a public sphere aiming for maximum participation.

re: The peoples of the former Yugoslavia - I think there was a problem that - in the wake of the atrocities of the WWII period - and brutual and indiscriminate reprisals which followed - the seeds of future hatred were sown.

There should have been a long and rigorous process of truth and reconciliation which followed: to make a socialist union of southern Slavs - which overcame past tensions and hostilities - possible.

Failure to engage with - and face - the past - ultimately led to a boiling over of hatreds - and the disintegration of Yugoslavia which follwed. And with the atrocities of the most recent Balkan wars still scorched into the minds of those who suffered - we are still far from the truth and reconcilation we need to guarantee lasting peace and mutual recognition in the region.

Tristan,
It seems your 'international communities' are unreal, as they are not here physically, so do not count in any real sense. I have an interest in family history, but do not consider myself as part of any international community. I have an interest that some others may share, that does not give me any rights.

As far as the former Yugoslavia is concernerned, they may well have reasons to hate each other but that does not concern us. I am however concerned about them bringing those hatreds here and causing social unrest.

If they can't come here and leave their old hatreds behind, then I believe we should not allow them to migrate here.

That also applies to others who won't or can't change their cultural ways to comply with our laws and social standards.

Social cohesian is very important to our communities and all effort must be made to maintain that. It is unreal to think that persuasion can alter generations of alien cultural practice.

Dear Banjo,

"Old hatreds" have been with us in this
country for decades. Each set of
migrants that came brought with them their
own set of prejudices or so called "hatreds,"
against someone else. The key feature of
prejudice is that it's rooted in generalisations
and so ignores the differences among individuals.
Also, the so called "trouble-makers" that are
featured in the media and news reports - are
usually a small minority of a given group.
However, they're the ones the get the publicity,
because it's newsworthy - not necessarily typical.

Someone who's prejudiced against Arabs will tend
to have a negative attitude toward any individual
Arab, in the belief that all Arabs share the same
supposed traits. The same goes for Lebanese people,
Serbs and Croats. We can't tar everyone with the
one brush - just because of what's on the news.

People continue to come from other countries, and
make Australia home, and although over 90 per cent
of Australians are of European descent, a direct
result of Australian immigration policies, the
population has become more representative of the
region. The cultural composition of the country is
more diverse - and as has been the case for decades,
people do eventually fit into their new society.
This is one of the most unique and rewarding aspects
of living in Australia.

Foxy,
I disagree. Most migrants leave any old hatreds of others behind when they come here or do not partake in violence when here.

Some, like the Croats and Serbs, continue their violence toward each other as they did before. The worst aspect is that they pass their hatreds onto their kids who grow up with the same hatreds and express that also in violence. For how many generations do you think we should tolerate this? We have at least 3 generations of Serbs and Croats here, and Lebs, at present. Each new migrant from those countries bring the hatreds with them and rekindles the hatred here.

The same thing happens with those few cultures who flout our laws and social standards. I am informed that there are women here that endured FGM, in Australia, and are now having their own daughters circumcised. Such is the strength of some aspects of culture.

Will we continue to turn a blind eye to these activities and to the violence of the Sri Lankans, in the hope that the Tamils and the others will suddenly learn to respect each other.

Now a days all prospective migrants are informed about us and our society so pleading ignorant is not on.

The politicians first duty should be to the safety and well being of our citizens so governments should uphold the laws and social standards that we enjoy. Cultural or racial violence should not be tolerated and the penalties severe.

Because of their history of violence, I think that migration of Croats and Serbs should be stopped and if the Sri Lankan violence continues, all immigration from Sri Lanka stopped also. Similarly, immigration should cease from those cultures that partake in alien practices such as FGM and forced marriages.

As I said before, most migrants settle in quite well but that does not excuse the ones that do not. Unfortunately we have to recognise that our society is not suitable for everyone or every culture in the world.

Dear Banjo,

It sounds to me that you're scapegoating.
Most Lebanese people are not violent - and have
lived in this country for decades. The same goes
for Sri-Lankans or any other immigrants. Not all
Brits are football thugs, and so on.

As I said in my previous post - we need to start
with education at the primary school level.

Of course all cultures include traditions, beliefs,
and values that are noble and enlightened as well as
ones that may be grotesquely ignorant, racist, sexist,
and bigoted as any that may be squeezed from even the
most appalling of Ockers.

Our goals should be to create a society in which people
of non-Anglo Australian origin are given the opportunity,
as individuals or groups, to choose to preserve and
develop their culture so that they can become living
elements in the diverse culture of the total society,
while at the same time they enjoy equal access to the
rights and opportunities that society provides and
accept RESPONSIBILITIES towards it.

Foxy,
Not scapegoating at all. The Lebs have been a problem since they were first allowed in by Malcolm Fraser. By Lebs, I mean the lebanese muslims. We have not experienced problems with non-muslim Lebanese and only a few problems with muslims of other nationalities and i am refering to their social conduct. The lebs have a chip on their shoulder and do not get along with anyone, even other muslims. Their anti-social behaviour has been well documented for years on OLO and other blogs as well as extensive news reporting. You do understnd that the Cronulla situation was brought about by the anti-social behaviour of the Lebs. Their disdain for our police, courts and justice has also been well documented.

As for the Sri Lankans, I think that we can only hope that the violence was due to the recent ending of civil war in Sri Lanka. My view is that any further violence should result in Sri Lankans not being allowed immigration.

History has shown that the Croats and Serbs have no intention of curbing their violence, so further immigration should be denied.

My only concern here is for an harmonious community in Australia.
We have given thousands of people lots of opportunities and many have done well. I have little sympathy for those who have little respect for us, but continue to show contempt for our society.

Dear Banjo,

You need to get your facts straight on the
Cronulla Riots. An SMS was sent out calling for a
"Leb and wog bashing day."

Please read the following website:
http://australiansall.com.au/archive/post/australia-s-dangerous-fantasy/

It may enlighten you just a little.

I really have nothing more to say on the subject.
See you on another thread.

Yes Cronulla was a response to long term racism, cultural clashes, crime, unsocial behaviour, racial slurs directed to white women, of course the rapes. Then the beach incident was the flash point after having to put up with 10 years of that rubbish. A very bad response but like the Indians today only after DENIAL by loopy fake left police who are fearful of being sued for criminilising a race. Why does it have to be the entire race? It only becomes that way after denial that non-white individuals are racist, very often,. So could not blame the problem on some gangs as all so not PC so the country rejected asylum seekers. If you cannot even control a gang then hell we better control the borders. I do not even know why this is so hard for people to understand. Not rocket science. But still we get the bleeding hearts who want to accuse some groups that were actually victims. Makes we want to vomit.

Denied by people not there, not informed, not even interested in the realities but rather just blame the bogan as usual, very lazy and very dishonest. Then the gangs attack Inidans and it is the bogans fault again, believe it or not., This is how stupid the debate has become.

Why even bother. Over it.

Dear TM,

Ah yes, as everyone knows the world is divided
into two categories: Other people and US.

Other people are the trouble makers.
Other people makes us vomit.
Other people are disgusting.
Other people are annoying.
Other people get drunk and rape.
We are the only victims.

Sounds hypocritical?

Let's face it. For some, life is only tolerable
when they can look down on someone else.