January 26, 1788
They land in Botany Bay
White man
Boat
Gun
His plants
His animals
His disease
New white law
They proclaim it New South Wales
For a king and queen
Many miles away
Safe in their castles
Their frilly long robes
Trees are cut
As they have been
Until today
Kill Tasmanian Tiger
Endanger bilby
Silt up a river system
Import cane toad
It ravages the north
Feed the Koorie alcohol
As she straps a bucket of petrol
Around her neck
Forty thousand years
Since they make their way
From mother Africa
Cleverly navigating the currents
Island hopping
They lived in health
In equilibrium
Boomerang corroboree Uluru
Until the invasion
And they will light fireworks
Over Sydney Harbour tonight
Celebrate 'Australia Day'
In a lame attempt to cover their tracks
And any thinking man can see
It as a day of remorse
A day of shame
When Britain stole again
Something that was not hers
Some call it Australia Day
The American Indians could write a very similar one for "the Americas." The same kinds of destruction and alienation that occurred against them in their homeland. I enjoy the 'fruits' of it, today, but my heart is affected by the plight of the American Indian that occurred then and in the years since. You chose and posed your elements very effectively, Boss, on the original Australia's behalf.
~ Lizzy
~ Lizzy
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Andrew (Darby)
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2002 5:46 pm
- Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Sure you can look at it two ways....what Boss and others say is undoubtedly true. Some folks no doubt were hurt.
On the other hand the life that you lead today is coz those folks (i.e., your ancestors) wandered around that way. So you could celebrate that. I'd take the latter and be aware of the former. Counting my blessings.
On the other hand the life that you lead today is coz those folks (i.e., your ancestors) wandered around that way. So you could celebrate that. I'd take the latter and be aware of the former. Counting my blessings.
Kush,
Finding a neutral day to celebrate this brown land would be preferable; honorable. And let the Aborigine have a major role in its formation, would that be asking too much? And just maybe dropping that Union Jack off the flag. Wouldn't that give all of us a sense of independence, a sense of union... We come from many lands.
Boss
Finding a neutral day to celebrate this brown land would be preferable; honorable. And let the Aborigine have a major role in its formation, would that be asking too much? And just maybe dropping that Union Jack off the flag. Wouldn't that give all of us a sense of independence, a sense of union... We come from many lands.
Boss
That's an excellent and the very best, fairest, and most honourable solution, Boss. If the Aborigine were willing to play that large role you are suggesting, it would be a perfect day of celebration. Has there been a contingency advocating for such? I would think there would have been, but if not, why not you?
~ Lizzy
~ Lizzy
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Diane
I feel strongly that 'tribal' peoples have a right to be treated fairly. One of my favourite charities is Survival International, which does a lot of work to try to help tribal people retain their lands. Here is their page about the Australian Aborigines:
http://www.survival-international.org/t ... ribe_id=14
In the news at the moment also are the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana. In the 1980s it was discovered that their reserve lies in the middle of the richest diamond-producing area in the world, and since then the bushmen have been persecuted terribly by their government. The Bishop of Oxford challenged the UK government about it last week.
People who live close to the land are our living link with our ancestral past, and the way humanity lived for tens of thousands of years. Some of them live lives that are quite brutal, and far from idealistic notions of the noble savage living close to nature, but they do live lives that are very real. Sometimes they want to adapt to a more modern way of life, but many of them do not. I think that the blindness to the rights, and the immense heritage and wisdom, of people who live their lives in a "primitive" way, is a symptom of the way we have divorced ourselves from the natural world in general. Power to these people.
Diane
http://www.survival-international.org/t ... ribe_id=14
In the news at the moment also are the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana. In the 1980s it was discovered that their reserve lies in the middle of the richest diamond-producing area in the world, and since then the bushmen have been persecuted terribly by their government. The Bishop of Oxford challenged the UK government about it last week.
People who live close to the land are our living link with our ancestral past, and the way humanity lived for tens of thousands of years. Some of them live lives that are quite brutal, and far from idealistic notions of the noble savage living close to nature, but they do live lives that are very real. Sometimes they want to adapt to a more modern way of life, but many of them do not. I think that the blindness to the rights, and the immense heritage and wisdom, of people who live their lives in a "primitive" way, is a symptom of the way we have divorced ourselves from the natural world in general. Power to these people.
Diane
Power to these people indeed. How simple would it be for the World Bank, for Microsoft, for Ford, for Coca-Cola, for me and for so many others to give their profit to disadvantaged 'tribal' people or disadvantaged people in general. This world could be turned on its head. Why so few out there making a difference? Buy this refrigerator, buy this car and these golf clubs. How did we get like this? Are we really so greedy? This greed is all that is standing between what we are now... and paradise.
How simple would it be to sell your computer and donate the money to the 'disadvantaged' people? It is a luxury you know. Thats a one-off for starters. Plus the internet connection fees that you pay every month could be a monthly donation to the above foundation. Just a suggestion since you feel so strongly about it.
p.s. just kidding!
p.s. just kidding!
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Diane
Hi Kush
Are you talking to Boss or me or both? You make a valid point of course, but my point is not about money, but about politics and about remembering who we are. We are all here care of a long period in our species' history spent living directly with nature. The earliest human-like being evolved in Africa about 10 million years ago, homo sapiens arriving 250, 000 years ago. The agricultural revoltion began 10,000 years ago. Until then we were all 'tribal'/hunter gatherers . To me it seems tragic to push out those people who retain the ways of our ancestors. The adaptive intelligence developed over all those years in the wilds allows some of us these days to live in a comfortable but rather artificial environment, which is all very fine, provided we remember those who were here first, and the value of the direct way of life they lead.
Diane
Are you talking to Boss or me or both? You make a valid point of course, but my point is not about money, but about politics and about remembering who we are. We are all here care of a long period in our species' history spent living directly with nature. The earliest human-like being evolved in Africa about 10 million years ago, homo sapiens arriving 250, 000 years ago. The agricultural revoltion began 10,000 years ago. Until then we were all 'tribal'/hunter gatherers . To me it seems tragic to push out those people who retain the ways of our ancestors. The adaptive intelligence developed over all those years in the wilds allows some of us these days to live in a comfortable but rather artificial environment, which is all very fine, provided we remember those who were here first, and the value of the direct way of life they lead.
Diane
Kush, you are right.
I should sell my computer and car and bed and just sleep on the floor and walk everywhere. I could alleviate the suffering of many and I, who would have nothing left, could live like 'them'. Perhaps I would prefer not living an 'artificial' existence; being closer to nature may suit me. Maybe we all need take a step 'back' to find our roots. Maybe that's what's missing in New York City, in Paris today. A sense of at-one-ness with a tree, the dust, water. The next time you buy a pair of 'Levi' jeans or 'This message has been classified as spam and will be deleted by the moderators' joggers, like Kush implied, think - do you really need them? Rather donate. We can 'Make Poverty History', we can 'Feed the World'. And we can definitely be proud of and learn from our 'primitive' relatives still alive today; even against a barrage of change and upheaval caused by 'civilised' Man.
Boss
I should sell my computer and car and bed and just sleep on the floor and walk everywhere. I could alleviate the suffering of many and I, who would have nothing left, could live like 'them'. Perhaps I would prefer not living an 'artificial' existence; being closer to nature may suit me. Maybe we all need take a step 'back' to find our roots. Maybe that's what's missing in New York City, in Paris today. A sense of at-one-ness with a tree, the dust, water. The next time you buy a pair of 'Levi' jeans or 'This message has been classified as spam and will be deleted by the moderators' joggers, like Kush implied, think - do you really need them? Rather donate. We can 'Make Poverty History', we can 'Feed the World'. And we can definitely be proud of and learn from our 'primitive' relatives still alive today; even against a barrage of change and upheaval caused by 'civilised' Man.
Boss
Diane.....I agree almost completely with everything you say. The 'almost' is only that I am not sure these worlds can co-exist. And even if they do....for how long and to what purpose?
On the other hand yes it seems intuitively right that the Prime Directive is adhered to and to let each and every tribe follow their own destiny.
But what if their destiny is to be swallowed up by the overwhelming 'modern civilization' and technology? I dont know that answer to that. Can you realistically (and by necessity artificially) keep tiny islands of 'primitive' society close to nature and to earth in the midst of modern society everywhere?
BTW thanks for that terrific link. Despite appearances I do have a special academic interest in primitive and isolated societies.
On the other hand yes it seems intuitively right that the Prime Directive is adhered to and to let each and every tribe follow their own destiny.
But what if their destiny is to be swallowed up by the overwhelming 'modern civilization' and technology? I dont know that answer to that. Can you realistically (and by necessity artificially) keep tiny islands of 'primitive' society close to nature and to earth in the midst of modern society everywhere?
BTW thanks for that terrific link. Despite appearances I do have a special academic interest in primitive and isolated societies.