why a national day?
Every country seems to have one. Getting into the nationalistic spirit is somehow meant to demonstrate your loyalty to the nation state, its values and its goals as well as a time to celebrate the birth of the nation itself. But what are they, who decides and does it really matter? In Oz, as with many colonised parts of the world, the modern nation was founded with complete disregard for the indigenous occupants, a sorry state of affairs which remains an ongoing point of contention. The truth is that the early white settlers invaded a country populated by a race of people without a European heritage, so taking the land was justified on the basis of some theoretical genetic superiority, and backed up by some vastly superior technology.
Saying sorry for this would at least acknowledge some of the history of this country but it isn’t going to do much more. Its a starting point and there is a long journey ahead. Who knows, one day we might actually be able to celebrate a day in unity with our aboriginal brothers.
But few people seem to question the general party atmosphere that prevails on Australia Day. Is this a show of support for the concept of a jingoistic festival or is it a case of being easier to go along with everyone else instead of bucking the trend? Perhaps it’s just the famous aussie penchant for a party, but that concept in itself has certain nationalistic overtones (aussie, aussie aussie…). Should we care? And is this really a state of affairs worth celebrating and identifying with? Will we have national days when the oil runs out and the ice caps melt?