Foxy,

Thank you for that wonderful wealth of information.

I'm sure others will also find it absolutely fascinating.

Thank you.

Hi WhiteMouse,

I was so pleased that you shared your information and
thoughts. I was an educator. I'm now retired, but
my grandchildren keep me busy. BTW - I used to run
Storytime Sessions, bookclubs, and educational classes
for a large municipal library system. They included,tiny-tots,
primary, and high school students from different backgrounds.
I'm also bi-lingual. And that's only a small oiece of my
background.

Thank you for your kind words.

Armchair Critic said "Hi CM, "The governments ideology seems to have outlawed those that disagree so it's difficult to even discuss the situation." - I'm glad I'm not the only one here who noticed."

Ans- Take care Armchair Critic

I prefer to experience the history of my own culture over that of another culture. Occasionally I might like to look at other cultures but I want to experience my own culture everyday. I expect people from other cultures will show a similar bias. Of course I believe that my culture is the best culture for me- especially being a Traditionalist.

Culture and its heritage reflects and shapes values,
beliefs and aspirations thereby defining a people's
national identity. Therefore it is important to
preserve our own cultural heritage, because it keeps
our integrity as a people.

My parents ensured that we learned about
our heritage, ancestry, our country's history,
language, and customs. They wanted us to be culturally aware
so that we could acknowledge our world views and heritage.

At the same time I grew up being surrounded by other
cultures. I experienced a vast and varied mix. I found
that this helped me grow as a person. It built empathy and
helped me navigate social complexities. I got a better
understanding of the differences in the cultures and
beliefs of others.

Not only Australia but the world is becoming
increasingly diverse and includes people from
many religions, languages, economic groups, and
other cultural groups. In order for us to build
communities that are successful we need to
understand and appreciate each other.

At the same time, as I posted on another
discussion we can't pretend that our cultures and
differences don't matter. We can't gloss over our
differences and pretend they don't exist- wishing
we could all be alike and that biases and
discrimination doesn't exist.

All we can do is try to remember that everyone has
an important viewpoint and role to play. We need people
to work together and to be included in decision
making processes for things to work and recognise that
cultural inclusion goes hand in hand with a just and
equitable society.