Celebrating our Western tradition
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4866
By Kevin Donnelly
11 September 2006
Joseph Furphy, in a letter to The Bulletin magazine's editor JF Archibald,
describes Such is Life as follows: "temper, democratic; bias, offensively
Australian". In answering the question: what creeds should we hold in
common? Furphy's description encapsulates what is unique about our culture
and what we should celebrate as a nation.
Australia has a long and proud history of democratic freedom, based on the
Westminster parliamentary system and English common law. Since federation we
have led the world in introducing reforms such as universal franchise, the
old age pension and a conciliation and arbitration system based on "a fair
go for all".
One only needs to travel abroad or to look at our music, literature, film
and other cultural expressions like fashion and sport, to appreciate what is
unique and distinctive about the Australian character. Laconic, open and
practical, egalitarian, but also competitive and compared to closed
societies, tolerant to a degree that is sometimes counter productive.
While our society and culture have evolved, especially since the end of
World War II as a result of our immigration policy, and it is no longer
fashionable to acknowledge the values we hold in common, the reality is that
Australia, in a region surrounded by instability and violence, is an outpost
of Western civilisation characterised by an open and free society.
Those on the "cultural left" deny this heritage. Especially when it comes to
education, much of the curriculum associated with studies of society and the
environment (SOSE) states that Australian culture and society is
characterised by diversity and difference.
As noted by Kenan Malik in All cultures are not equal, the prevailing
intellectual climate in the West is to disparage what we should hold most
dear, he states:
To be radical today is to display disenchantment with all that is
"Western" - by which means modernism and the ideas of the Enlightenment - in
the name of "diversity" and "difference". The modernist project of pursuing
a rational, scientific understanding of the natural and social world is now
widely regarded as a dangerous fantasy, even as oppressive.
Instead of celebrating Australia's Western tradition, including our
Anglo-Celtic heritage, students are told that we have always been
multicultural and that all cultures are of equal worth. When one reads the
SOSE documents the focus is on what divides us, instead of what we share in
common.
The Tasmanian curriculum, when explaining what is meant by social
responsibility, emphasises the need to endorse "multiple perspectives" and
"diverse views".
The South Australian curriculum, in outlining the importance of students
understanding cultural and global connections, also emphasises "diversity"
and "difference", as does the ACT curriculum, under the heading "Australian
Perspectives", when it says that students should experience the "diversity
of Australian life".
The way studying Australian history is described in the Victorian curriculum
also stresses diversity, multiple influences and the multicultural nature of
Australian society - with the exception of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities that are given special treatment.
The Italian philosopher, Marcello Pera describes the argument in favour of
cultural relativism as follows:
The notion that the judgement of cultures or civilisations constitutes an
invalid mode of inquiry has been put forward, most notoriously, by the
school of thought known as relativism. Various names have been given to this
school today: post-enlightenment thinking, post-modernism, "weak thought",
deconstructionism. The labels have changed, but the target is always the
same: to proclaim that there are no grounds for our values and no solid
proof or argument establishing that any one thing is better or more valid
that another.
While it is true that Aborigines settled in this continent years before
Europeans and migrants from many different races and cultures have made this
country their home, the reality is that Australia's development as a nation
and its legal, political institutions and language are Anglo-Celtic in
origin and deeply influenced by our Judeo-Christian heritage.
Notwithstanding the "cultural-left's" dislike of assimilation, research
shows that the sons and daughters of migrants prefer to intermarry and to
identify themselves with the broader Australian community instead of forming
separatist enclaves.
Post Bali bombings and post 9-11 the weaknesses and flaws in cultural
relativism are many. First, arguing there is nothing inherently worthwhile
about particular cultures ignores the fact that some cultural practices -
female circumcision, misogynism and Sati (where wives throw themselves on
their husbands funeral pyres) (ed. honour killing, binding feet) - are wrong
and un-Australian.
Also ignored is that the very values of tolerance, compassion, openness and
civility that ensure Australia's continued peace and stability are
culturally specific and based on our Western heritage. Much of mankind's
history is a story of bitter and violent warfare, civil unrest and
destruction, Australia, by comparison, has a settled and peaceful record.
In a world of increasing globalisation, where international travel, music,
film, the Internet and other forms of entertainment make national borders
redundant and impose a homogenous view of culture, the danger is that young
Australians remain ignorant of who and what we are as a nation.
If nothing else, the return of the History Wars, sparked by the Canberra
History Summit, provides an opportunity to ask the question: what should
young people be taught about the past and what is the narrative that best
tells our story?
Many argue that the type of grand narrative associated with a celebratory,
Anglo-Celtic, Christian view of Australian society should be condemned as
"conservative, Eurocentric and nationalistic" and of little value. I
disagree.
In the same way Winston Churchill argued that while democracy might be
flawed, it is superior to any alternatives, in relation to Western
Civilisation as transplanted to these shores, I would argue that while it is
far from perfect, it is certainly superior to the rest.
--
Antimulticulture
"Bring Back Democracy!"
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Unite Against Multicult'ism!
"Abolish Multi-Culty and String Up the Traitors!"
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Asianisation of Australia: The Grand Plan
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