I love Australia but we quite a few screws loose at the moment. We have people feeling the economic squeeze and therefore looking around to blame someone for it. The buck often stops with the stranger, the new arrivals, and humans have been like that for way too long.
That said, we do have growing pockets of subcultures within Australia that are corrosive and dangers because old and broken ways from homelands overseas, have not been diluted by being mixed with our awesome, cosmopolitan, imperfect, she’ll be right culture.
We need more mixing, right at a time when insidious smartphone and social media usage is addicting people into echo chambers of hate and division, because that’s where these grotesque businesses make the most money. Add the charlatans at Fox News After Dark, who spew their fearmongering poison into the shallow, harried, and hurried media machine, and we now have a toxic cesspool of noise that gives rise to those shallow, selfish sovereign nation lunatics, and Aussie tough boys with their southern cross tatts (or Nazi memorabilia) who march in our streets draped in Chinese-made flags yelling hollow slogans they’ve picked up from Joe Rogan and other conspiracy enablers from the United States (and or from Russian botfarms, playing the west like fools).
It is a truly hideous moment if you observe our country at this macro level.
But, if you stop, and actually speak to a neighbour, or smile and chat with the local checkout operator (there are some left) and barista and servo attendant, and delivery person, you tend to meet a lot of decent people who just want to find their place, survive, love, and do something constructive with their time on this planet on our, collective, patch of turf.
If there is anything to march against, it’s our unthinking, slavish consumption of the sewage being pumped through our mass media and social media. And if there is anything to march for, it’s taking “sovereign ownership” of our minds and cultivating a critical thinking culture. To that end, I have seen this list floating around online (this version was shared by Van Badham), it is really worth bookmarking these sites:
For those who love a fact-check-and-de-bunk, here are some of my favourite bookmarks, saved to my desktop for handy instant access:
– AAP factcheck (Australian professional journalism service, specifically busts garbage getting circulation in Australia): https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/
– BBC Verify (yes, that BBC – busts internet garbage from all over the world): https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65650822
– Politifact (US politics focus, independent fact-checking from Americans Poynter journalism institute): https://www.politifact.com/
– Snopes (from the US, debunks all kinds of insane internet content, from fake news to urban legends): https://www.snopes.com/
– Vatnik Soup (disinformation research from Finland, searchable database of “influencers”, commentators and “independent journalists” on the Putin teat and yes, there are absolutely Australians in it): https://vatniksoup.com/en/soups/179/
– Daniel Dale, CNN (has the specific job of fact-checking everything that comes out of Trump’s mouth, should get a medal): https://www.cnn.com/profiles/daniel-dale
This song finds a way to embrace Australia Day, warts and all. There is no sticking of the head into the sand, nor is there self-flagellation over actions done by my forebears. However, there is eyes wide open acknowledgement of that past. Likewise, there is a strong validation of the fact that we are “better than that”. We are stuffed in many ways but if we can muddle forward together with a heavy dose of our laid-back but earnest attitude, we can actually nurture and grow the amazing culture we’ve crafted together, over 200 years and 60,000 more.
Happy Australia Day, and Thoughtful Australia Day, too.
Australia Day Lyrics
[Verse 1]
The Australia in which I was born
Had lots of backyards and lots of lawn
And we knew our neighbours down the street
And we’d smile at everyone we’d meet
Now we drive around two stories high
From our trucks we can’t see eye to eye
So when neighbours come with different dress
It leads to doubt and fear and stress
[Verse 2]
With Aussie flags we march and make the news
Like a mob of angry kangaroos
We borrow slogans from around the world
To give ourselves some things to yell
This should not be how our story goes
We need to calm the farm before it blows
We only hurt ourselves if we betray
The right of everyone to have their say
[Chorus]
Who’s here is here now
Let’s make it work
It starts with learning
We share this dirt
We share the same sun
We share the flies
And there’s a vibe here
Beneath our skies
Just tone it down (tone it down)
And be laid back (be laid back)
Bend a little (bend a little)
And cut some slack (cut some slack)
Take a breath (take a breath)
And find a way (find a way)
To be as one (to be as one)
On this Australia Day
[Verse 3]
We’ve had two hundred years and sixty thousand more
To welcome strangers to these shores
The un-invited and the refugees
Soon learn there is no better place to be
There are lessons if you listen to this land
To survive we need to understand
When you head into its vast red heart
You know we’re done for if we drift apart
[Chorus]
Who’s here is here now
Let’s make it work
It starts with learning
We share this dirt
We share the same sun
We share the flies
And there’s a vibe here
Beneath our skies
Just tone it down (tone it down)
And be laid back (be laid back)
Bend a little (bend a little)
And cut some slack (cut some slack)
Take a breath (take a breath)
And find a way (find a way)
To be as one (to be as one)
On this Australia Day
[Verse 4]
If we fix our gaze around the world
We could drift into eternal hell
We’d better keep our eye upon the ball
And live the virtues that let us stand tall
We haven’t always done our best
But we’ve had a share of great success
We’ve faced the battles and fought through
To know what it means to be true blue
[Bridge]
It takes more than a snappy song
To help different cultures get along
Pour yourself into our melting pot
You will change but you will gain a lot
[Chorus]
Who’s here is here now
Let’s make it work
It starts with learning
We share this dirt
We share the same sun
We share the flies
And there’s a vibe here
Beneath our skies
Just tone it down (tone it down)
And be laid back (be laid back)
Bend a little (bend a little)
And cut some slack (cut some slack)
Take a breath (take a breath)
And find a way (find a way)
To be as one (to be as one)
On this Australia Day
Listen To Australia Day
Australia Day Raw Scratchings
