Normally, the forging of a country is done by some calamitous event, such as a civil war, invasion or rebellion. The stronger countries, or at least ones with a strong national identity, usually have had some crisis in the past involving a serious issue. Hence, these countries citizens are actively involved, generally recognizable, examples include: South Africa-Apartheid USA- Civil war and countless wars Malaysia, communist invasion/fighting, plus a history of British imperialism India- Gandhi, enough said Germany- Two world wars and a country split in half for nearly 50 years. Arguably, war can make a difference to national identity. I live in Australia, as I have for most of my life, yet I see no sense of identity in any of my fellow citizens. All we have is the shared shame of the genocide of the Aboriginals, and a pathetic ANZAC myth to sustain our idea of Australia. I am really not opposed nor in favour either way, It's an interesting thing to consider, and I consider it for it's own interest. I suppose as earth becomes more and more populated, old cultural lines will blur, and class lines will become more distinct, the ultra rich, rich, and the rest of us. That. Fortunately is a long way off in Australia.
challanger did you ever think it might be because australians in general dont apreciate the fact that unlike so many other countries (all countries except NZ i belive) we recived our independence through a VOTE. My personal belif is the day we have as Australia day, rather than a day comemorating the vote we have the day australia was invaded. Australia day SHOULD be 1st jan because that comemorates the constitution. Yet currently the country is more concerned with maintaining the number of public holidays. Its sad but what can you do? Maybe things will change when we finally are a republic
But where;s the struggle, the shared suffering, the determination that we see in so many other nations ? We don't get that by still clinging to britian.
"Pathetic"??? WTF man... It's no myth. Aussies and Kiwi's kicked some major ass in WWI and WWII. As long as there are nations, hold your head high and honor their memory.
Even the Finns, who disappeared off the world stage after WWII, have the pride in fending off the Red army using inferior numbers, and what has Australia got ?, A bunch of idiots dying for empire.
challanger, i think most of us are pritty proud of what the country did in east timor and the solomon islands. The problem is that howard turned that into something distasteful by invading iraq
Why do we have to define ourselves via a shared struggle? Why not through a shared desire to build a future for ourselves? And if we must define ourselves by a shared struggle, it could just as easily be one against the elements rather than some external foe. We sure did Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The Anzac legend or myth or whatever you wish to call it is a major part of our national identity, why else would Anzac day be celebrated with such fervor. Believe me, I shall.
But it wasn't that great a struggle against the elements was it ?, And to romanticise that notion, marginalises the Aborigines, who were here "against the elements" long before us. The Anzac myth wasn't so hot in the 80s and early 90s now was it ?, And why are we celebrating fighting for empire anyway ? Do we forever want to be associated with the british empire by continually placing Gallipoli on a pedestal ?, Oh, wait. I know what you're going to say, "They fought for freedom, and people like you don't deserve their sacrifice,"... Let me cut that off by saying, one. They did not fight for freedom, They fought for a system of alliances and a really stupid fantasy/loyalty to the empire. Hell, they still celebrated empire day then. But it didn't involve a major part of the population, being proud of it is like being proud of the stranger who you just saw once, and then saw him accept a medal. Oh wait, that's sports. If we ourselves have nothing to be proud of, like a shared struggle by our ancestors (WWII, the blitz of london), Or a defense of the land, Poland, Finland, Vietnam, etc, then really, what's left of the Australian identity?.
It was just a suggestion. Actually I wasn't going to say that. The way I look at it is that World War 1 marked the transition from doing things the British way to doing things our own way, at least Militarily. From Gallipoli onwards there was a clear shift away from the British way of thinking ultimately culminating in Sir John Monash being the first overall commander of Australia's armed forces. Australia is essentially a migrant nation. For any 'shared struggle' to have affected the ancestors of the majority of the population it would have to have happened very recently, probably in the last 1-3 generations.
not to mention that with the 0.7 percent birth rate means that all of us are more than likly not to have decendents in a few generations. The only reason australia will still exist is because of the rate of migration. Otherwise we would simply age out of existance
Oh, ok then . Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Then what's with the massive emotion and guilt tripping attempt to feel australian on ANZAC day, I'm not attacking you personally, it's just a sore point with me. That we perpetuate the myth that they died for freedom, and made a sacrifice. They thought it was a fucking joyride, ffs. Either we need to seriously look at our national identity, instead of sweeping it under the carpet until Cronulla happens again, or stop trying to fit a predominantly white Imperial history on what is essentially a amalgamation of cultures and races, in an urban setting. As opposed to the homogenous, country oriented identity we had.
geez I didn't know you Auzzies had so much identity problems as a Canadian I can relate do you have though a constitution that is yours and yours alone ? just asking
We have serious Identity and racial crises, but we prefer to sweep it under the carpet. Yes, I think we do. It's different from everyone else's.
