The great lie about Australian culture
I’m just having a yarn.
When someone asks “what’s Australian culture?” its a difficult question to answer.
The most correct response is to say “well let’s sit down and have a yarn about it. We can talk about what it was like for the pioneers”
Since I moved to Sydney, I’ve had immigrants ask me every year “what is Australian culture?”
They can’t understand it, because it’s not something you taste, or something you see. It’s something you feel in the connections around you, it’s the values we hold and the humour we share. It’s the spirits we build.
If you live in a multicultural city with nothing but foreigners around you, it’s completely absent in your life.
Anyone who gets up on a podium and announces “Australian culture is multicultural!” is telling you a lie.
They’ll tell you “Australians believe in a liberal democracy”.
We couldn’t care about liberalism, we just know if a politicians run a muck they’ve gotta go. The rest? She’ll be right.
Australians have a deep respect for the land and property. “Gather round, down on the ground, and I’ll tell you a thing or two about this world”.
If you want to taste Australian culture, grab a goon sack from uncle Dan and some hot chips with chicken salt, have a meat pie for breakfast.
If you listened to the prime minister speak you’d probably think that never existed, that there’s nothing unique about Australia, and we’re just celebrating immigration.
A good shepherd protects and guides his flock, he doesnt lose them in the field and accuse them of racism.
Considering the circumstances and betrayal I'm torn between two worlds:
- Give up and accept that it was a short but beautiful chapter of history, or
- Participate in the great attempt to revitalise a culture that has been lost to international media and mass immigration.