ttbn,

The topic headline is "Australia's Cultural Identity Deserves to be Preserved".

Well then preserve it, all of it.

For me this also includes the Australia Day ads put out by the Meat and Livestock Corporation. They are great ads and the one about us being boat people is fantastic. They even poke a stick at vegans, which I think is fine, being a vegetarian. In many ways we are all boat people, I mean my relatives came by boat from all over the planet.

Sherry goes on to say:

"Yet Australia Day is held to ransom each year by a divisive niche of postcolonial trolls bent on driving a wedge between European Australians and non-European Australians."

Whilst I agree Australia Day & the future of it needs more debate, it can't be denied people of all backgrounds have contributed to the development of Australia. It's like having a puzzle of Australia and then choosing to leave out puzzle pieces (say states or territories you don't like).

Things don't work like that and your puzzle at the end of the day is incomplete.

Alexander Downer with the Mayo by election a few years ago (after his daughter and his family were being attacked on Facebook for some of their comments online) stated:

"Our family have been nation-builders, we've helped to make this nation great. You can abuse us and you can criticise us, and we will take it, we don't mind, because nation building is in our blood."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-29/casey-briggs-tweet/10049250?nw=0

So even Alexander Downer disagrees to a certain level with the role of early settlers.

Alexander Downer on a trip in France this year with his wife attacked Australia's COVID-19 lockdowns whilst in a French Chateau, with Mr Downer labelled 'out of touch', 'tone deaf', 'repugnant' and 'privileged'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9946245/Alexander-Downer-French-holiday-slammed-tone-deaf-entitled-tweet-lockdowns.html

Yes, people from very early times did bring some good things to Australia, but they were certainly not perfect, many were out of touch & they did horrible things to first nations people. Really it is day people that have helped make Australia great and these people should be recognised.

A song imported from America was popular in the 50s in country NSW.

You've got to be a football hero
to get along with the beautiful girls
You gotta be a touchdown getter, you bet,
If you wanna get
A cutey to pet.
The fact that you are rich or handsome
Won’t get you anywhere with girls
You gotta be a football hero,
To get away with the beautiful girl.

It typified the attitude of both countries. Homogenized by fighting a war together, & a country of winners. If there was a "blue" it would be out the back of the pub, in a ring of bar patrons, enforcing it was a clean fight. Anyone who ever used or even carried a hidden knife was in for a thrashing.

What happened, we imported too much garbage. We managed to absorb the first wave of war displaced people, & the southern European influx, & make them one of us, but then the flood gates opened.

We imported far too much garbage, far too quickly to absorb, & often not worth trying. Today any blue is likely to see knives & broken bottles flying. The garbage we imported has absorbed us & the fair go culture we once had.

We are left with a rubbish population of gutless bastards, more likely to stab someone with a knife, or broken bottle, than be in a fair fight. The king hit once so despised has become the way today.

There is no way we could raise a Militia of todays kids to fight a Kokoda campaign as did the kids of 1942. Why would anyone fight for the mongrel bread bastard of a country we have become?

Monash University has an interesting article on
the Australian identity debate. Quoting just a tad from it:

" Trying to define national identity is like searching
for the end of a rainbow. It isn't something that can
be found or a place we can collectively reach: it's
something that unfolds over time and through generations.
It's also something that is contested and evokes a sense
of belonging individually."

"It's a deeply personal concept. As soon as you start
talking about a distinctive national identity or
character you begin to exclude and define those who are
in and those who are out and that's the problem..."

There's more at the following link:

http://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2019/01/22/1369645/australian-identity-debate

Hasbeen,

You obviously don't keep up with the news.
There's been many incidents of alcohol induced
king-hit violence killing our own young men.
Not be "imported garbage" as you put it but done
by locals. It's a very sad state of affairs.

Here's just one report. There's plenty more
individual cases you can Google happening around
the country:

http://news.com.au/national/months-of-terror-the-king-hit-violence-killing-our-young-men/news-story/b6160ee2e1b61fe0cd96fb1eedbc8d97

Hi Foxy,

Some view the past through extremely "rose coloured glasses". In Sydney there was the razor gang of the 1920's and 30's, who would slash victims with cut-throat razors. In the 1950's, the Toe-cutters would use steel pincers to lop victims toes off.

A question to establish cultural identity; Am I more Australian when munching on a meat pie, than I am when enjoying an Indian curry? I will not pass judgement on "cultural identity" until ttbn defines it in a rational sense.

Dear Paul,

National identity is a deeply personal concept.
And people see things in different ways. It's
something that unfolds over time and through
generations. It means different things to
different people. If you were to stop and speak
to people in the street you would be surprised at
the contradictory replies that you'd get.

Our country has a unique history that has shaped
the diversity of its people, their cultures, and
life styles today. It is their diversity of
influence that creates a cultural environment in
Australia, that is lively, energised, innovative
and for most Australians outward looking.

As stated earlier - according to the ABS there are
3 major contributors to Australia's demographic
make-up:

1) A diverse Indigenous population.

2) A British colonial past.

3) Extensive immigration from many different
countries and cultures.

Today, Australia's population is one of the most
culturally and linguistically diverse populations
in the world. It's culture is as broad and varied
as the country's landscape. We are a multicultural
and multiracial country and this is reflected in the
country's food, lifestyle, cultural practices and
experience.

Enjoy your evening and see you next year!