Dear Lexi,

"dull, self-satisfied, and joylessly conformist."

That we were not part of the giant political upheavals in Europe nor even in the US may well have earned us that description but consider for a moment what was achieved in this country. South Australia was the first part of the then British Empire to give women the vote, NSW introduced the Aged Pension well before it was implemented in the UK and we were among the pioneers for an eight hour day.

I think there are certain advantages of leading from the front, those agitating for change are doing so because they see a better, more just way of doing things. The followers tend to find those in power are forewarned and agitation is met with far more brutality. As nasty as the Labour movement ructions were in Australia in the first part of the last century it was a cake walk compared to what occurred in the States where deep injustices are still embedded.

We have had either the good fortune or the right sense of perspective to elevate our society with far less pain than that experienced in other countries. It is something to be celebrated.

So should our intellectuals. That they are not revered as their kind often are in their own countries is not as I said a bad thing, but that should not detract from their worth. Our Robert Manne is not a Tariq Ali, Barry Jones is not a Gordon Brown, and our Tim Flannery is not a Richard Dawkins, they are instead likable, seemingly affable, and without enormous tickets on themselves.

I don't know about you but this all seems to speak to a certain magic we have in this country, a perspective that would make a Germane Greer more comfortable elsewhere. I for one would hate to see it disappear since it serves us well tempering our reactionaries and revolutionaries and steering them to contribute rather than dismantle and destroy.

<<Our Robert Manne is not a Tariq Ali...>>

I'll say aye to that!

I"m flabbergasted every-time I read a blurb which rates him one of Australia's "leading public intellectuals"-- Talk about "(a) dull, self-satisfied, and joylessly conformist".

Hey CSteele (Ismad), shouldn't you be over on that other thread supporting your fellow parishioner Iftikhar (Ahmad)?

Dear csteele,

I think you've misunderstood me.
And it probably is as a result of my
responses to SPQR's posts that you've
taken what I've posted as a criticism
of this country. It was not intended as
such - but merely to understand our own
heritage - and why some people see things
the way they do (a link with the past).
It was in way meant to denigrate the
achievements this country has made - and to
which migrants have contributed so very much.

Some of the uneasiness of the past has
developed for the greater majority of
Australians into greater understanding.
As more and more Australians could afford to
travel overseas for their holidays they became
aware of the different ways of other parts of the
world and thus felt more sympathetic to the
problems of migrants here.

Most of us now have a critical self-consciousness
of the exaggerated image of the pub-crawling,
"Ocker" Aussie of the past. The suburban life and
well-being of Australian society has become the butt
of many jokes (Barry Humphries, Graham Kennedy,
Nino Culotta), and the intolerance
towards "new Australians" and others has been seen
as an unjustifiable prejudice.

This critical self-consciousnes has forced many politicians
and the public, to revise not only policies but also many
of their long held and cherished notions about themselves
and the rest of the world.

See you on another thread.

cont'd ...

I've just discovered a typo.

The sentence should read:

"It was in NO way meant to denigrate ..."

My apologies.

Sigh. If only Australians could be as tolerant as other nationalities:

<Lithuanian Bigotry on Display
The Forward has a very sad story about a terrible custom in Lithuania. Much of my family once lived there so I cannot help but wonder if they witnessed this. This sort of behavior should never be tolerated.

"in this city, once known as the Jerusalem of Lithuania because of the breadth and piety of its Jewish community. During Carnival — or Uzgavenes, as it is known in Lithuania — Catholics from around the world congregate for a feast of foods prohibited during Lent. The festival usually involves a parade or circus, with attendees in masks and costumes. But in Vilnius — commonly known to Jews as Vilna — participants traditionally dress and act “as Jews,” a feat that generally calls for masks with grotesque features, beards and visible ear locks and that is often accompanied by peddling and by stereotypically Jewish speech.

Perhaps even more shockingly, the “festivities” extend beyond the parade itself and into a Halloween-style trick-or-treating. When Simonas Gurevicius, the 26-year-old executive director of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, opened the door to his house during last year’s Uzgavenes, he was greeted by two children dressed in horns and tails, reciting a song that translates as, “We’re the little Lithuanian Jews/We want blintzes and coffee/If you don’t have blintzes/Give us some of your money.” (It rhymes in Lithuanian.)">

http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/lithuanian-bigotry-on-display.html

Dear onthebeach,

Thank You for giving us an example of what
has happened in other countries.
Most of us realise the terrible and pervasive
nature of prejudice - be it in Lithuania,
the UK, the US, Israel, or elsewhere. However, that
certainly does not make it right for us in this
country to
sweep what goes on in ours under the rug.
That's just a lame excuse for apathy.

As Dr Eva Sallis points out:

"If contemporary Australians are to live at ease
with themselves, we need more education, less
fear mongering, and at least greater honesty
about the culture of racism that can be so damaging
to us all."

Or as Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre),
stated:

"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to
eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been
loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there,
firm as weeds among stones."