SteelRedux,

You said that in your youth, nationalism wasn't a big thing at all.

Your meandering reply was a self indulgence that did not address the reasonable question to you. I repeat, it is very hard to imagine anyone who was around at that time in Australia, who wouldn't have felt some loyalty and pride in his country and its defence forces, a sense of nationalism.

Yet you maintain that you didn't.

You went on to bag the US, however many Australians post-WW2 and now are very thankful for the sacrifice of the thousands of young Americans who fought in the Pacific theatre.

Perhaps it is your hatred of the US that is clouding your judgement.

Dear George,

Yes, you're correct my ancestry is Lithuanian.
I was born in Australia.
International research has shown that some measure
of assimilation is inevitable for any ethnic
community. Even seemingly airtight and isolated
groups like Hasidic Jews, cannot totally escape a slight
touch of assimilation. Furthermore, assimilation is a
two-way process. As an immigrant absorbs the culture
of his host country, he is also giving off and
surrendering some of his own imported heritage.

As a result, an immgrant living in Australia for a long
time is likely to gradually create a new identity,
although he may not be aware of it. What the former immigrant
still believes to be his Lithuanian, Greek, Vietnamese,
Hungarian, Chinese, or British identity may well be
regarded as totally Australian by the contemporary residents
of those countries.

Apart from food, many Australians seem to know very little
about non-British migrants or their cultures.
An attempt to preserve migrant cultures in Australia was
initiated several decades ago, on 30 May 1978, when the
"Report of the Review of Post-Arrival Programs and Services
to Migrants" was tabled in the Federal House of Representatives.
Commonly known as the Galbally Report, the document
recommended, inter alia, "that if our society develops
multiculturalism through the broad concept of community
education, it will gain much which has been lost to other
nations."

This recommendation was based on the observation that
"already our nation has been enriched by the artistic,
intellectual, and other attributes of migrant cultures."

Dear Shocker,

I don't see you as a "bogeyman" at all.
You simply don't say anything new. Your attitude
is something we've all grown up with in this country.
Luckily, your outdmoded attitude is no longer
acceptable to most thinking peole - and it will
eventually die out

Dear Foxy,

I agree with much of what you wrote but I still think that one should distinguish between multiethnicity with multiculturalism.

Yes, the Galbally Report spoke of multiculturalism - after all, 1978 was six years after the appearance of the “unmeltable ethnics” book - but as I understood it (and I think at that time so did most Australians) it expressed support for a variety of ethnicities, ethnic identities, within one political AND cultural Australian identity.

I cannot speak for the problems (and perceptions) of multiculturalism in Austraia today, since I have lived in Germany for the last 15 years. And here, Polish, Italian etc immigrants “melt” (assimilate) - i.e. mingle with the general population with no a priori preference for their own ethnicity - in the second and certainly the third generation. With Turkish immigrants that is not the case: they make contacts, of course, but often their different ethnic - actually cultural, based on a different religion, whether or not confessed - origins often remains visible into the third generation.

In Britain, France etc there is a similar difference between immigrant European ethnicities and those of non-European cultures.

Of course, visible cultural differences do not have to imply problems but unfortunately they often do. In my opinion, the multicultural nature of most countries is a (future) fact, that cannot be avoided, only the problems made explicit and attended to.

George,
I agree about the difference between multi-ethnicity and multiculturalism.

We have been multi racial since 1788 but not multicultural.

The ideology of MC was imposed in the 70s and is a misnomer as we only accept some cultural practices from some cultures. Basicly, only those that fit our existing culture. There are many alien cultural practices that are not acceptable to our society. There is not one foreign culture that we accept in its entirety.

By the way, there are a few alien cultural practices that our politicians turn a blind eye to.

We can let our culture evolve and can well do without government imposed social engineering.

However the foundations of our society is the Westminster system and that remains so. It is in our interests to endeavour to retain our unique culture.

Shockadelic,
A few things to note from Foxy's last post.

"An attempt to preserve migrant cultures in Australia was
initiated several decades ago"
This is an admission that the purpose of MC was to foster other cultures, although she has previously maintained this was not so.

This financial year we are spending $41 million on federal grants to migrant communities. How much since 1970?

Foxy quote, This recommendation was based on the observation that
"already our nation has been enriched by the artistic,
intellectual, and other attributes of migrant cultures."
You will note the continued use of the word 'enriched' without saying how. 'Diversity' is another word commonly used but again nothing about how we benefit.

There has not been one practical advantage put forward as to how Aus benefits from MC. It is only the migrants themselves that benefit, to the detriment of Australians and our culture.

There are many, like me, who are sick of our funds being spent to foster the maintainance of alien cultures and the continued erosion of our own.

Dear George,

Up until the early 1970s, assimilation and the
preservation of "White Australia" continued as the
Australian Government's official policies. Migrants
of every ethnic origin were expected to assimilate
promptly into a monocultural mould of Australian
identity, based on the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic
culture.

The ideal immigrant was the one who assimilated easily,
one who "became more similar to the host population
as a result of social interaction and through the
shedding of attributes of their culture."

In the meantime, the postwar diversification in
Australian immigrants' backgrounds continued, and
multiculturalism was becoming more and more evident in
all walks of life. The new face of Australia was
in existence long before the politicans and civil
leaders were prepared to admit it.

The very presence of foreign languages and foreign
language press in Australia mirrored the nation's
growing cultural diversity.

Several other factors combined to erode, and finally
eliminate in 1966, the White Australia and Government-
promoted assimilation policies.

The contributing factors included generally changing
social attitudes, war service, travel, foreign students
in Australia, et cetera. The revised immigration
policies allowed new people to come and settle in
Australia, people from a wider range of nationalities,
races, religions and cultures. By the end of the 1970s,
Australia had acquired an unmistakably new heterogeneous
face.

The official government policies reflected these social
developments, they moved from "assimilation" to
"integration" and then to "multiculturalism."
The Galbally Report (1978) was the turning point, when it
urged the Australian Government "to encourage the retention
of the cultural heritage of different ethnic groups and
promote intercultural understanding."

Australia has welcomed settlers and new citizens from
more than 200 countries. Few nations have managed to combine
ethnic and cultural diversity with national unity as
successfully as Australia. That's because Australia's
cultural diversity is seen by most people as a strength
which makes for a dynamic society.

Within a framework of laws, all Australians have the right to
express their culture and beliefs.

The multicultural nature of Australian society to me is one
of the most unique and rewarding aspects of living in
Australia.