Speaking at a ceremony to mark the opening of a memorial to the 138 people who died trying to cross the wall between 1961 and 1989, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in the Communist east said:

“We can change things for the better — that is the message of the fall of the Berlin Wall.”

With that in mind, do Australian citizens have the confidence to "tear down the walls" - and come forward to examine issues in our society like racism, a better understanding of cultural beliefs, attitudes towards refugees and a better acceptance of Australian history and multiculturalism?

Dear Nathan,

Thank You for this discussion - and what a great
introduction and how appropriate to the start of
a New Year. To quote from the old adage:

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.
So write a good one!"

There's also a Prayer for the World that Rabbi
Williamson quotes in her lectures which is also appropriate
here:

"We pray for this our world.
We ask that You remove the walls that separate us
and the chains that hold us down...
May we no longer be at war with each other.
May we no longer be at war within ourselves.
Let us forgive this century and every other,
the evils of history, the pain of our common fears.
Remove from our hearts the illusion that we are
separate.
May every nation and every people and every colour
and every religion find at last the one heartbeat
we share..."

Well the poms would have been a damn sight better off if the thing still stood.

They would not have their country flooded with eastern European immigrants, who are destroying the life style for the lower socioeconomic quarter of the country who actually want a job & a life.

Obviously the elites don't give a dam how the lower third of the population get on. Provided they can complement each other at those awful diner parties they have, on how gracious & generous they are to underprivileged foreigners, they are happy. Pity they are not the ones who have to wear the costs of their generosity.

Thank you Foxy for your comments. However last night (after I posted my thread) I just happened to read on another post:

"During a panel discussion German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with Prime Minister David Cameron when he said:

“Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged Muslims and other immigrant groups to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong."

Finding out more about Angela Merkel online - feeling she was saying something completely at variance to what I had initially found - she is a German politician (with very strong views) - so I am not surprised by the above comments.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/17/angela-merkel-german-multiculturalism-failed

We should forget history, but too many still live in the past, have an addiction to it, no will to move forward and a view towards others (based on bias), have limited forms of forgiveness or the ability to move on - but I can't force change on others.

Hello,

My above post was meant to read in the last line:

We should *not* forget history, but too many still live in the past, have an addiction to it, no will to move forward and a view towards others (based on bias), have limited forms of forgiveness or the ability to move on - but I can't force change on others.

Dear Nathan,

On August 1st 1994, the Polish nation commemorated the
fiftieth annuversary of the Warsaw Uprising, in which
200,000 Poles were killed by German Nazis, and 500,000
more were transported to concentration camps.

During this commemoration, then German President
Roman Herzog made an extraordinary apology to the Polish
people:

"Today, I bow down before the fighters of the Warsaw
Uprising as before all Polish victims of the war," he said.
"I ask for forgiveness for what has been done to you by
Germans ...It fills us Germans with shame that the name of
our country and people will forever be associated with
pain and suffering which was inflicted on Poland a million
times. We mourn the dead of the Warsaw Uprising and all
people who lost their lives in World War II."

Polish President Lech Walesa had invited the German President
to take part in commemorative ceremonies as an "act of healing."
He said, "We do not give absolution to the murderers in
Warsaw, but we do not pass those feelings upon the German
nation ... Blood and hatred are a curse of the twentieth
century; may they disappear in the past along with it."