On this Australia/Invasion Day, if you're feeling in need of spiritual awakening, or an injection of moral certainty, or even reassurance that Australia in 2006 is one big, happy family that rather likes the aroma of Bush's rear passage, read on.
John Howard believes our standing in the world has never been higher when in fact it has probably never been lower.
We are almost a laughing stock in Europe .... considered no more than a 'yes sir' sycophant to the US. In the Middle East we are hypocrites, along with the US and the UK, espousing democracy and freedom while supporting an illegal and murderous war of occupation .... the list is long.
Howard is right about Australia's quality of life but he does not take into account the fact that such a small population with such a large amount of space must have an edge. And, having lived in Europe and North America, the sun helps .... something that Governments do not control.
But Howard is a politician and all politicians put their 'spin' on things .... it is the nature of the beast. Howard will probably go down in history as the least honest Prime Minister we have ever had and so his speech should not be taken too seriously.
But, having lived around the world, in the First and Third I have to say Australia is fortunate in that not only does the sun shine, not only do we have a great deal of space, but the country functions with a level of efficiency that I never found in Europe, the UK or North America.
Australia does work and it works well in terms of organisation, and service. It may not work as well as many would like but it works better than anywhere else I have lived. We should be grateful for that.
Australia is not as good as it should be and in some respects is not as good as it was, but, many of the things which are happening in the country today are happening worldwide. There is a universal trend toward conservatism and those elements of nature defined as right-wing. In some ways it represents a natural swing back from too much liberalism and those qualities defined as left-wing.
One can only hope the pendulum reaches a place of balance. It is important to recognise what is wrong in Australia and seek to rectify it but it is also important to recognise what is right, and there is a lot that is right as anyone who lives overseas for long periods of time will know.
Amongst First World nations Australia ranks amongst the best .... if you include the sun shining it probably is the best. Our task is to make it better.
John Howard may have acted in ways ranging from amoral to immoral but even he is no more than a glitch in history. There is nothing that cannot be set to rights in time. There is nothing so bad that we cannot learn valuable lessons from it.
Yes, one can understand that Aborigines see this as Invasion Day. It was. But while we have not succeeded as we must in regard to them, we have done as well as other modern colonising nations in trying to resolve this problem.
No, it's not good enough but it isn't all bad either.
It is important to celebrate Australia Day if only to say thankyou, to be grateful for the good fortune to be citizens of a country which is one of the nicest places in the world to live. Still.
With all of the wrongs there is still a great deal that is right.
hey addamo yes, I agree about Canada. I have also been living in Canada but amabout to go back to the UK. I Have lived in the States too.
I agree with everything you say about Canada. Over the years it has become more American. I think the television has a lot to answer for but it has always had a drift to the South rather than West to East or vice-versa.
I also think it is more British and that reflects in the lifestyle... or lack of it. Australia is lucky that for whatever reason it has developed a more European lifestyle and as you say a joie de vie, an appreciation of food, wine, fun.
I think Oz is a good mix of the European life style, the British sense of order and regulation and the American can do attitude.... without being excessive in any of it.
The US is diverse and I actually find the South more welcoming than the North where I spent most of my time. What is not diverse though is the media and I think there is a more homogenous quality to Americans than even they recognise.
It's a very self-obsessed sort of culture.... quite adolescent in many ways but I guess that comes from being powerful very quickly and from being somewhat isolationist. 80 percent of Americans don't own a passport.
Australians, per capita, travel more than anyone else. I guess we have to because we are so far away and not very important. But I think we are curious too.
Mostly though I miss the sense of humour in North America. Australians mock everything, including themselves and I like that. Nothing is sacred. That irreverence is I think healthy. The Brits do it too, but not as much as we do.
addamo I agree about irony, and yes, probably is the Irish and Jewish influence.
The Irish, like the Jews, take themselves very seriously indeed. They also have a similar sort of 'we was wronged', victim mentality, forever hearking back to ancient wrongs.
There's an aggression in Irish culture too which is masked by the 'hail fellow well met' image they have of themselves. Only the Irish could use an euphemism like The Troubles for the murderous slaughter they have waged against each other.
It's interesting to compare cultures with histories of 'victimhood.' The Armenians have a similar capacity to take themselves too seriously.
Interestingly the Russians have a very dry sense of humour and despite being victimised both by Tsars and Stalinists don't have a sense of victimhood.
Maybe you get back to religion and orthodox Catholicism, the Irish kind, and orthodox Judaism are the problem.
addamo, I agree, Australia has strong Irish flavours in its makeup. Interestingly while watching a programme on an Aboriginal family some years ago I could see a source for our dry wit.
Cultures are fascinating and I guess that's the thing about assimilation where everything mixes and marries to create something new.
And parts of New York are very Jewish and parts are not. Jewish humour has predominated in film because the industry has been predominantly Jewish. The humour in other parts of the US is different.
Invasion day, oh what a day when we slaughtered a population from 700,000 down to less than 70,000 in little over 100 years.
Oh how we love the invading British colonial forces, oh how they are Australia's true decendency.
FUCK AUSTRALIA DAY AND ALL THE IMPERIALISTIC BULLSHIT IT REPRESENTS.
Give me reconcillation and new flag anyday of the year and we can call it Australia. Otherwise the name remains : January 26 1788, Invasion of Australia Day.
12 Comments:
Why do lefties still live in Australia when they seem hate it so much?
Is it because it just cool to hate it and deep down you really wont to vote for Johnny ;)
Mannie said...
Why do zionists still live in Australia when they hate everyone else?
Israel awaits them!
Because they don't bother with people like you who continue to ape the zundel's of the world.
Delusion is a wonderful thing.
John Howard believes our standing in the world has never been higher when in fact it has probably never been lower.
We are almost a laughing stock in Europe .... considered no more than a 'yes sir' sycophant to the US. In the Middle East we are hypocrites, along with the US and the UK, espousing democracy and freedom while supporting an illegal and murderous war of occupation .... the list is long.
Howard is right about Australia's quality of life but he does not take into account the fact that such a small population with such a large amount of space must have an edge. And, having lived in Europe and North America, the sun helps .... something that Governments do not control.
But Howard is a politician and all politicians put their 'spin' on things .... it is the nature of the beast. Howard will probably go down in history as the least honest Prime Minister we have ever had and so his speech should not be taken too seriously.
But, having lived around the world, in the First and Third I have to say Australia is fortunate in that not only does the sun shine, not only do we have a great deal of space, but the country functions with a level of efficiency that I never found in Europe, the UK or North America.
Australia does work and it works well in terms of organisation, and service. It may not work as well as many would like but it works better than anywhere else I have lived. We should be grateful for that.
Australia is not as good as it should be and in some respects is not as good as it was, but, many of the things which are happening in the country today are happening worldwide. There is a universal trend toward conservatism and those elements of nature defined as right-wing. In some ways it represents a natural swing back from too much liberalism and those qualities defined as left-wing.
One can only hope the pendulum reaches a place of balance. It is important to recognise what is wrong in Australia and seek to rectify it but it is also important to recognise what is right, and there is a lot that is right as anyone who lives overseas for long periods of time will know.
Amongst First World nations Australia ranks amongst the best .... if you include the sun shining it probably is the best. Our task is to make it better.
John Howard may have acted in ways ranging from amoral to immoral but even he is no more than a glitch in history. There is nothing that cannot be set to rights in time. There is nothing so bad that we cannot learn valuable lessons from it.
Yes, one can understand that Aborigines see this as Invasion Day. It was. But while we have not succeeded as we must in regard to them, we have done as well as other modern colonising nations in trying to resolve this problem.
No, it's not good enough but it isn't all bad either.
It is important to celebrate Australia Day if only to say thankyou, to be grateful for the good fortune to be citizens of a country which is one of the nicest places in the world to live. Still.
With all of the wrongs there is still a great deal that is right.
hey addamo
yes, I agree about Canada. I have also been living in Canada but amabout to go back to the UK. I Have lived in the States too.
I agree with everything you say about Canada. Over the years it has become more American. I think the television has a lot to answer for but it has always had a drift to the South rather than West to East or vice-versa.
I also think it is more British and that reflects in the lifestyle... or lack of it. Australia is lucky that for whatever reason it has developed a more European lifestyle and as you say a joie de vie, an appreciation of food, wine, fun.
I think Oz is a good mix of the European life style, the British sense of order and regulation and the American can do attitude.... without being excessive in any of it.
The US is diverse and I actually find the South more welcoming than the North where I spent most of my time. What is not diverse though is the media and I think there is a more homogenous quality to Americans than even they recognise.
It's a very self-obsessed sort of culture.... quite adolescent in many ways but I guess that comes from being powerful very quickly and from being somewhat isolationist. 80 percent of Americans don't own a passport.
Australians, per capita, travel more than anyone else. I guess we have to because we are so far away and not very important. But I think we are curious too.
Mostly though I miss the sense of humour in North America. Australians mock everything, including themselves and I like that. Nothing is sacred. That irreverence is I think healthy. The Brits do it too, but not as much as we do.
addamo
I agree about irony, and yes, probably is the Irish and Jewish influence.
The Irish, like the Jews, take themselves very seriously indeed. They also have a similar sort of 'we was wronged', victim mentality, forever hearking back to ancient wrongs.
There's an aggression in Irish culture too which is masked by the 'hail fellow well met' image they have of themselves. Only the Irish could use an euphemism like The Troubles for the murderous slaughter they have waged against each other.
It's interesting to compare cultures with histories of 'victimhood.' The Armenians have a similar capacity to take themselves too seriously.
Interestingly the Russians have a very dry sense of humour and despite being victimised both by Tsars and Stalinists don't have a sense of victimhood.
Maybe you get back to religion and orthodox Catholicism, the Irish kind, and orthodox Judaism are the problem.
addamo,
I agree, Australia has strong Irish flavours in its makeup. Interestingly while watching a programme on an Aboriginal family some years ago I could see a source for our dry wit.
Cultures are fascinating and I guess that's the thing about assimilation where everything mixes and marries to create something new.
And parts of New York are very Jewish and parts are not. Jewish humour has predominated in film because the industry has been predominantly Jewish. The humour in other parts of the US is different.
The important thing is is all good.
neo
The Arabs didn't need to, they already had a good one.
I guess if the Jews can steal religion from the Egyptians the Arabs can filch it from the Jews.
Dear neo,
what were these lies you discovered?
I am not pro-Palestinian I am pro- human rights, integrity, principle and justice.
I am not anti-semitic at all, not even mildly. I am not anti anything.
As I said, please enlighten us as to thelies you discovered.
But neoleftychick never claimed Jesus existed. So you just wasted your time and everyone else's with your diatribe.
Most interestingly, if Jesus never existed, it necessarily follows that Mohammed, who propagated the second coming of "Isa", was lying.
Just so you don't get confused this Anthony has a _ at the end of he's name.
Funny thing is I agree with alot of what the other Anthony is saying so yeah :P
Invasion day, oh what a day when we slaughtered a population from 700,000 down to less than 70,000 in little over 100 years.
Oh how we love the invading British colonial forces, oh how they are Australia's true decendency.
FUCK AUSTRALIA DAY AND ALL THE IMPERIALISTIC BULLSHIT IT REPRESENTS.
Give me reconcillation and new flag anyday of the year and we can call it Australia. Otherwise the name remains : January 26 1788, Invasion of Australia Day.
I'm sure everyone is waiting to hear how you fell in with the IHR crowd.
Post a Comment
<< Home