First up I want to clarify that I am a proud Australian. This country has beautiful landmarks, is prosperous, vibrant and youthful. I am very fortunate to have been born and raised in Perth. I come from a loving family with the utmost respect and compassion for fellow human-beings. The values, morals and general attitudes my parents instilled in me as a child lay relatively dormant in my mid-to-late teenage years but have come to serve me well in my twenties. I am very privileged and owe it all to my parents and the country in which I have resided. There are many less fortunate people in this world… the earthquake affected Haitians instantly come to mind.
My heart swells with pride each day of the year. Whether it be the success of an Australian SME, the toils of a fledgeling sportsman, or the determination and grit of a music group, I love seeing Australians succeed. This brings me to the topic of this blog post, why do we need one day of the year to celebrate? I love my wife and tell her every day. I think it’s fucking stupid that Valentine’s Day has to bring this out in other people. Is it an inferiority complex that makes a husband bring a bunch of flowers home to his wife on Valentines Day or the commercialisation of the event?
I’m stating the bloody obvious here, but I certainly cannot speak on behalf of Australia’s indigenous community. I have no idea how it feels to be an Aboriginal on Australia Day. However, I remember an Australian nation and its people that were proud and self-assured. As an intelligent, albeit slightly precocious 11 year old in the 90s, I remember an Australian nation that didn’t feel the need to prove anything to the rest of the world. We were Australian. Privileged. Proud. Prosperous. We didn’t feel the need to be loud and obnoxious about it. Oh how the times have changed…
All the aggressive patriotism, extravert behaviour, chest puffing and dick swinging that Australia Day now brings has SWEET FUCK ALL to do with national pride. The last decade saw the rise of this “Fuck Off, We’re Full” / “Australian Way of Life, Fit in or Fuck Off” / “Love it, or Leave it” mentality, which comes blurting out in all its racist and elitist glory on Australia Day. However, it’s only a minority of Australians promoting this mindset. This minority ruins Australia for the rest of us. I’m going to generalise here, this minority are Australiana-clad, drunk, obnoxious, racist buffoons with their peroxided rats tails and cartons of Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s congregating on the South Perth foreshore starting fights with those who contend or oppose.
I ask myself, “What has caused this?”
Coming back to the inferiority complex of the husband on Valentine’s Day; is it an inherent Australian inferiority complex that makes Australians feel the need to attach flags to their cars? Is it an inferiority complex that makes us feel the need to be loud, drunk and obnoxious on Australia Day? Is it an inferiority complex that spawned the most annoying, mind numbing chant ever created: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi”?
Or is the issue deeper? Such as a desire to separate our nation from its head of state? A desire to rid the nation of the “convict stain”? A desire to smite the “cultural cringe” Australia’s most successful business, sporting and musical identities escape by relocating overseas? The inferiority complex outlined above breeds every single one of these arguments, you cannot deny that no matter how hard you argue.
I love Australia and would never hold a fellow Australian back from succeeding overseas. The resentment towards Kylie Minogue and the like shits me – they still call Australia home! FFS!
I love Australia and feel that loud, obnoxious, aggressive patriots ruin this beautiful country. Whether your surname is Jones, Briggs, Marshall or Chan, Fiorenza or Doodkorte, we’re all Australian, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The loud, obnoxious, aggressive patriots need to become aware and comfortable of the fact that Australia is a quiet achieving nation. We’re smaller than the UK, the USA and China to name a few, that’s the bottom line.
Have pride in your nation, and be true to it. Happy Australia Day, and enjoy it for what it is.
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