January 25, 2012

  • It's Australias day

    Dear reader, on the eve of Australia Day (that's the day that we descendants of white Europeans officially celebrate the colonization of the great land of Oz and those who like to think of  themselves as representatives of the original inhabitants of the great land of Oz think of themselves as being invaded), I thought I would turn my thoughts to the concept of patriotism. I do this because the other day, I was accused of being "un-Australian" because I have never played the game of Two-Up. In response, I assured my accuser that I also did not like Vegemite, support Rugby League or fly the Australian flag from my car.

    My personal belief is that I don't need to go out of my way to prove that I am patriotic. I was born in Australia, grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney and have only ever left the shores of this great southern island once - certainly many less times than a lot of my peers.

    I don't think there is any defined definition of what makes an Australian an Aussie. If you take a random sampling of us, you'll find every one of those questioned would have a different idea of what it means to be Australian. The one thing that they would all agree on is that we are an easy going and tolerant people in general. The term "she'll be right mate" is one that really should be considered the countries motto. It fits so well in all situations - been bitten by a funnel web spider?

    She'll be right mate.

    For most of the 20th Century, defining the culture of Australia was pretty easy. We were a prime example  of everything British in the first half and then things started to change when those strange foreign people started to arrive. For the most part, since these new comers were from Europe, they were happily accepted into our communities and as a result, their skills contributed to some of the major infrastructure improvements that we take for granted today.

    The Greeks, for instance, integrated themselves into Australian society so well that you couldn't go to a milk bar without being served by one of them PLUS they didn't really care that their business establishments were referred to as "wog bars" by us when we were kids. At that stage, multiculturalism was in  its infancy and wasn't the wussy girl it is now.

    Australia is a haven for people wanting to start a new life. It always has been and I hope it always will be. The world today is a different one to when i was a kid. We had "boat people" then but they were Vietnamese people escaping from a regime that was quite happy to kill anyone who disagreed with them.

    Nowdays, the "boat people" come from a different place and we're unsure what to do with them. However, that's one of the great things about being Australian - it doesn't matter where you come from, you're going to be welcomed with open arms by most people because Australia is a place where we aren't that worried about who you are or where you come from. We just want  you to enjoy the better life that you came looking for.

    We Aussies only ask one thing of you when you come here to stay - leave all your excess baggage behind. You made the decision to leave your crappy country for a better life so we'd prefer it if you didn't try to turn this place into your crappy country. Embrace the new freedoms you have found here and take time to relax.

    After all, at the end of the day, she'll be right mate.

    Later days.

    Trivial fact number 218: Ethelred the Unready, King of England in the Tenth-century, spent his wedding night in bed with his wife and his mother-in-law.