Australia Day From The Wrong Side

Australia Day is gazetted as a national public holiday where we’re supposed to celebrate all the things that make this country so good.
Except… I’ve been reading some of the articles, posts and speeches, and suddenly I don’t really feel like celebrating. The reasons why can fall into 2 groups

Group 1 is the “I’m Sorry” group

I’m sorry for the shameful treatment of the people who were here before European settlement

I’m sorry for the forced labor, the stolen generations, the theft of land and the crushing of a culture that had been here for thousands of years before Captain Cook arrived in Botany Bay.

I’m sorry for their disenfranchisement, for the beaurocracy that keeps them at arms length, and for years of failed government policy.

I’m sorry for the way we have tarred all of our indigenous brethren with the same brush, based on a (very) few non-typical stereotypes.

I’m sorry for our migration policy, that treats refugees with a shameful inhumanity.

Group 2 is the “I’m ashamed” group

I’m ashamed of being white, because apparently that automatically makes me a racist.

I’m ashamed of carrying the Aussie flag, because apparently that automatically makes me a white supremacist.

I’m ashamed of having a mortgage, a job and a car, because apparently that automatically makes me one of the privileged middle class.

I’m ashamed of being male, because apparently that automatically makes me a violent abuser of women and children.

I’m ashamed of throwing a lamb chop on the BBQ because that automatically means I hate vegans.

So today I’ll sit at home and celebrate…. nothing at all. According to informed opinion I have no reason to celebrate anything. I have been on the wrong side all these years. Who knew!

Just for once, I reckon it would be good to set aside a day where we could come together, celebrate all the good stuff this country has to offer. Things like, oh I don’t know, a stable government, the chance to vote every 4 years, the absence of civil war (you know, those things with guns, rockets and grenades). 24 hours set aside to celebrate, and welcome each other. I reckon it would be good to lift our eyes at night time, watch a massive fireworks display, and put aside all the things that apparently divide us, and just be thankful and enjoy being Australian.

We used to have a day for that.

Just an opinion.