Dear Austin,

Like so many people, I love this country and yet
it seems that politics has become a dirty word
with so many people being dismayed by the current
political scene. It appears that there is a kind
of conservatism which is an impediment to social
change and breeds prejudice. It's not good for
Australia, nor for her people. Perhaps what we
may need is a major shift in values. We need to
believe in our ability to take the big steps.

Perhaps we need to re-examine our Constitution.
There are those who argue that this foundation
document should not be changed at all. They argue
that the extraordinary social, economic and
political developments of the 21st century require no
response from governments and no evolving of structures or
powers to deal with vastly different conditions.

Others argue that the important issues of our time,
political equality, the relationship of the individual
to the state, human rights, the special consideration of the
environment and international relations - demand specific
attention in a Constitution.

Why don't we have national protection standards, instead of
haphazard state-by-state standards. Why do we have different
railway gauges and more politicians per head than any other
country in the world? What about family law? The Commonwealth
has responsibility over the children from a marriage, but the
States have respnsibility for children born outside a marriage.
And so it goes on.

As someone once said, "If one measurement of the health of a
society is its ability to improve existing institutions, then it
is probably time we got out
of the sick bed and started thinking seriously
about what changes can be made for the greater
good."

But perhaps the greatest obstacle in the way of making any
changes, to the Constitution, or anything else, is the
conservatism of the Australian people. However, I don't
really believe that. Perhaps it's been the politicians who
through their conduct and language have tended to politicise
any reforms so that voters are unable to make balanced
assessments of the issues. Now that is un-Australian.

David, thanks for your thoughts. Just a comment on the un American thing of the 1950’s. I believe it had a focus on communism. It was un American to be a member of a socialist organization. It was un American to write fiction or nonfiction that painted socialism in a fair light. Whereas I think our un Australian means not giving a fair go to another, anything that is not fair.

My Baltic beauty, so it was your lot, post WWII immigrants that changed the utopia we Anglo’s once had.
Lexi a dim memory from my childhood is of my mother warning my older brothers about the “Italian boys” who supposedly would knife you as soon as look at you, before they matured to become fruit shop owners and concrete pumpers. I remember thinking to myself, I know all the Italian kids and if I had to prognosticate on who would do the stabbing, it would be my older brothers.

Houelly I think that one of the factors that gave us the fraternity of mateship is that we lost the class consciousness that plagued the founding country (Britain). Governor or convict to be sent to Australia was no reward. We were all outcasts, the plebs and the gentry. Perhaps because we had to start from scratch and every social class worked towards establishing a nation there was a commonality to the society.

Dear sonofgloin,

You are right about the Un-American activities Committee focussing on Communism, but Un-American was a moral judgment also. The Ku Klux Klan has been called Un-American also, but that was a most American organisation. When I became an Australian citizen Michael Lavarch who presided over the ceremonies said that Australia is the best country on earth. I was horrified. I think Australia is a good country, and I like being here. However, I see no necessity for putting down other countries.

The only characteristic that is uniquely un-Australian, gloinie, would be the failure to contract names and add an 'ee' sound on the end. Unless it already is in which case it gets contracted further.

Effie's, lessie's and becqie's comments can apply to other countries as do those of Lex.

WM, I thought it was "o", as in daveo, richo, steveo.

Surely it must be un-Australian to bandy about the term "un-Australian"....for some reason it sets my teeth on edge.