In the shadow of Botany Bay
February 3rd 2010 06:46
“I came upon the prison ship, weighed down by iron chains;
I fought the land, I tilled the soil, and waited for the rain.”
-- From “I Am Australian,” written by Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton
I’ve lived in Australia for about half my life now, but even after all these years, I still want to cry whenever I hear the song “I Am Australian.” It reminds me that the country which I have made home for that time was once one giant prison for the British empire's “undesirables,” and I can’t help but wonder what scars it has left on Australia’s national psyche.
Australia made the best of its situation, and managed to find good in the results of the British crown’s atrocities. The question is not what can be done about it now, but why does nobody ask what can be done about it now? Considering that some countries hold grudges and base modern diplomacy on incidents that happened over a thousand years in the past, why should Australia (and America, Ireland, and Scotland, for that matter) be compelled to whitewash or forget things that happened only a century ago?
It’s easy to forget that the NATO system and worldview whereby everything west of Bavaria is “like us” dates only to World War II. It’s even easier to forget that America’s last major interaction with Britain prior to World War I was fighting the War of 1812. Seventy years is a long time, but not as long as even a young country like America or Australia’s history. If we were starting new today, would we find anything in common with any of our current “staunch allies?”
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
-- Winston Churchill
I fought the land, I tilled the soil, and waited for the rain.”
-- From “I Am Australian,” written by Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton
I’ve lived in Australia for about half my life now, but even after all these years, I still want to cry whenever I hear the song “I Am Australian.” It reminds me that the country which I have made home for that time was once one giant prison for the British empire's “undesirables,” and I can’t help but wonder what scars it has left on Australia’s national psyche.
Y’know who else deported criminals and malcontents to a wilderness on the other side of the world? Stalin.
Australia made the best of its situation, and managed to find good in the results of the British crown’s atrocities. The question is not what can be done about it now, but why does nobody ask what can be done about it now? Considering that some countries hold grudges and base modern diplomacy on incidents that happened over a thousand years in the past, why should Australia (and America, Ireland, and Scotland, for that matter) be compelled to whitewash or forget things that happened only a century ago?
It’s easy to forget that the NATO system and worldview whereby everything west of Bavaria is “like us” dates only to World War II. It’s even easier to forget that America’s last major interaction with Britain prior to World War I was fighting the War of 1812. Seventy years is a long time, but not as long as even a young country like America or Australia’s history. If we were starting new today, would we find anything in common with any of our current “staunch allies?”
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
-- Winston Churchill
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