Dear davidf,

Thank you for the topic.

In my youth nationalism wasn't a big thing at all, in fact we tended to look down on the Yanks and their gushing patriotism, but I'm not really sure what changed. Is it just purely the weight of the American Culture? A reaction by some disaffected sections to multi-culturalism? A greater investment in sporting success? A more expansive sense of our place in the global community? Or could it just be the by-product of a young nation growing older?

I have a lot of misgivings about overt nationalistic behaviour but I do see benefits flowing from when we decide to measure against other countries. For instance our fall in international education standards was a driver, one almost neutered by this government for some real reforms in the way we fund our schools.

But it is a fine line. Just the right amount and we are embarrassed for our country when it gets named for human rights abuses by the UN. Too much and we feel we can disregard the criticism because 'we are right and always will be'.

@ david f, Sunday, 6 April 2014 7:24:53 PM

Wikipedia is full of factoids and speculation. You shouldn't rely on that as your source.

But why do that anyway when Loudmouth (Joe) a researcher who posts on this site has examined original government records and posted his findings on here. You must have seen his posts, or are you saying you haven't? Because I would be interested in what facts you can provide that challenge his conclusions.

SteelRedux, "In my youth nationalism wasn't a big thing at all, in fact we tended to look down on the Yanks and their gushing patriotism"

Where and when were you born?

You couldn't have been living in Australia or the West around or after WW2. Australia lost many lives in WW1, then was the Great Depression and WW2, another large loss of lives. Yet you say of yourself and the community around you, "In my youth nationalism wasn't a big thing at all". Say what? Was there an Australian family who didn't lose someone close in WW2?

You continue, "..in fact we tended to look down on the Yanks". Ever heard of the battle of the Coral Sea? Australians were and remain very thankful for the sacrifice of the thousands of young Americans in the Pacific theatre of WW2.

Dear onthebeach,

If you want to believe that all the stories of massacres of Aborigines were made up you will believe that. If you want to believe their land wasn't taken from them you will also believe that. I am tired of this interchange.

david f,
The Australian Aborigine just like Islanders were a just as warring people as all others including the anglo-saxon. When the first anglo-saxon settlers arrived here there were massive areas which were so sparsely populated that the settlers saw it as acceptable to make a living on that land. The Aborigines weren't backwards when it came to defending or attacking they simply weren't advanced enough to get the upper hand. That is the nature of survival. Like it or not there's nothing we can now say or do to change that. The settlers have since poured unimaginable amounts of resources & good will into improving the lives of the indigenous. Many who have a degree of indigenous in them are taken full advantange of this. Those who are still trying to get to grips with the past 200 years will simply keep on waiting for something that's not there. No matter how much of a victim one can be it still does not excuse doing nothing to try to better one's lot even though some call it culture.

david,
Yes, thanks for the thread. It has given others, such as myself, the opportunity to highlight the failings of the multicultural ideology.

For those that support the flawed MC policies, they should remind themselves that it is not all beer festivals, dragon parades and new culinary experiences. There are many alien cultural practices that are detrimental to our society.

It appears that the supporters of MC accept the adverse practices as simply the price we have to pay so they can obtain a choice of eating places, which is the only practical outcome of MC. No one has yet shown any other practical advantage for the millions wasted over the years. They simply persist in abstract slogans like 'diversity' and 'our lives enriched' without demonstrating how.

For myself and an increasing number of others, the price is too high for the little gained and the sooner MC is disbanded completely the better off we will all be.