Democracy and decency demand that we recognise those who
lived in this country before the Englanders arrived in 1788.
Many here believe they enjoy the privileges of a democracy,
and some do, but it is slanted to favour just a few, those who by birth and so
social class fall in with the machinations of the moneyed minority.
Democracy in its truest sense will not exist in Australia
until we have, initially at least, recognized in our constitution that other
people lived in this country before Europeans set up camp in Botany Bay.
Australians are inherently easy going and tolerant to a
fault, and so have stood back in quietist fashion allowing the more aggressive to
supplant democracy with other processes that favour a minority and disenfranchise
most.
We now live in a militarized plutocracy; we have been duped
into endorsing governance processes that protect the affairs of the elite,
while we are rewarded with crumbs from the main table and garrulous distracting
entertainments.
The progeny of those who have lived here for 40 000 years
mostly make-up the disenfranchised; democracy has failed them; racism has
railed against them; and forever seeking refuge in claims of innocence, our
ignorance has reigned over two centuries of missed opportunities, brought about
by our arrogance and our failure to acknowledge that through our ways we were unable
to accommodate the needs of others.
Suggestions that we wait until 2017 to even vote upon the
idea of recognizing those original inhabitants is an indefensible delay; the
white man’s ways have disrupted and in many cases destroyed the lives of
indigenous people and all they seek now is recognition.
Humans, irrespective of where they are from or their affiliations
and what their interests might be, need to be recognised.
Recognition is a fundamental human need and right with
research clearly illustrating that people emotionally prosper when they are
embraced and welcomed into the group or community.
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| Anarchy - is misunderstood, but has an inherent decency about it. |
Democracy is about recognizing your fellows and with that allowing
them to be an integral and so useful part of our community.
Indigenous people traditionally enjoyed a powerful tribal
culture in which the expectations of individuals were defined and adherence to
those values was demanded, but within and around that was a freedom that most
today would consider anarchy.
The perverse tolerance and liberty introduced by the
invading Englanders, along with their foreign ways, destroyed existing inherent
tribal culture and through the application of a militaristic and authoritarian
colonialism built around those who had survived here successfully for 40 000
years a way of life they didn’t understand, and mostly still don’t.
Democracy in its truest sense, as opposed to the present
plutocracy, is what all Australians need, or maybe even the genuine exploration
and understanding of anarchy.
