A shared sense of citizenship is crucial to a functioning democracy but the prevalence of a debilitating, censorious, tribal identity politics is the enemy of a shared citizenship. It has proved a cancer on democracy.Personal identity is always in flux. As poet Alan Shapiro wrote in a recent edition of the Hedgehog Review philosophy journal, identity is a "lifelong pas de deux between nature and nurture, self and tribe, self and world".
Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah has written about identity's pursuit of the "spurious notion of psychological wholeness". He has warned about the "Medusa syndrome". Recognition of identities can come with their own rigid strictures, as if there is, for instance, only one way to be black or gay.Members of the so-called "People's Australia Day Parade" in St Kilda on January 26, 2021.
The world is too readily divided into "us and them". Right wing extremists, white supremacists or Islamist militants all drink from the same poisoned well of identity. National identity inspires Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalism and persecution of Muslims. Political strongmen like Hungary's Viktor Orban, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro all exploit national identity.National identity is too often the refuge of scoundrels and populists feeding on fear and anxiety. Australia is not Brazil, Turkey, Hungary or India. It isn't Xi's China, or Putin's Russia or even the patriotic but bitterly divided United States.
History can't be measured like weights on a scale. Nations are formed by — but not trapped in — the past.
80% scared, ignorant, brainwashed, unconscious people!
Stan is very thoughtful.
It's the vibe check, chug water, then I move on with avoiding silly nationalist days, not celebrating anything but wondering on change, awaiting shops reopening, wondering if they're paying penalty rates to staff, finally coming out of December - January twilight nothingness.
What sort of a headline is that, what a DH of a journalist.
Does it matter when we celebrate bring Australian? We should pick a friday any friday so we can all have a long weekend now that's Australian not whatever the hell the 26th is.
How can you define it - regardless of what day it is...? I fail to see how anything related to our 'identity' can be understood - let alone celebrated, without coming to terms with the nature of the birth and how it came about; it means and feels very little untill then...
Australia is a country of immigrants, who come from countries with history and culture . We do not have an identity . It says it all when we are represented by cockroach races and thong throwing. We have nothing to show culturally. Even our flag still with the union jack on it.
Happy Australia Day ABC
'We are one but we are many'. It's a great line that probably sums us up perfectly. Australia day should be a day of remembrance and celebration. Remembering all the mistakes and hurt piled on our indigenous people. While also celebrating the Australia of today.
The current Aussie day only came into official existence in 1994. A most of the time, Jan 26 commemorated the area around Sydney declaring itself to be a British colony. Officially that didn't happen until Feb 7, 12 days later. Interesting how people want to rewrite history.
today we must burn the ABOs FLAG looks shirti
How about we keep changing our identity to something more inclusive and independent?
Great piece 👏 by Stan Grant on the risks of pushing the cause for national identity, and the value in identifying in a nation state.
Australia is not just First Nation people or First Fleet Anglos. It’s a land of many ethnic groups, ALL OF WHOM should be celebrated equally on Australia Day. Let’s move on from this stupid spat between indigenous and first whites that ignores everyone else. AustraliaDay
casual racism, no regrets
ABC dividing the country again
I see Australia Day as a day we saved Aboriginals. There were stories of cannibalism and tribal slaughter/wars. 35,000 years here and still a tiny population. Either they didn't like sex, they starved to death or there was much slaughter between tribes. They should thank us.
What’s to celebrate 😂😂 what a shit hole Australia is.
I certainly won’t be celebrating.
Genocidal. Racist. Ignorant. Imperialist. Capitalist. Misguided.
Well the date is wrong, 26.01 has no real meaning apart from a penal colony being established. It's not a unique or uniting date. Howard made it a public holiday.....in the late 1990's
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