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!