I had been searching for Australia’s national identity trying to conjure a broader and deeper understanding.
Have you put any thought to why many left leaning people in the EU, US, UK and Australia consider the concept of national identity as inherently xenophobic? Almost as many believe an absence of it is an indication of treasonous intent.
By way of a definition, to have a national identity, could be described as possessing a sense of being linked to distinctive traditions, culture, and language of a particular region or country. The individual will feel part of a cohesive society of political and cultural elements. Modern life is far removed from the way humans lived for 99.99% of the last 300,000 years. Can we agree that everyone needs to feel part of something and somewhat valued?
I have long suspected Australians suffer from ingrained self-doubt. Not as sophisticated as England, not as wealthy as the United States. Should Australia possess a national identity, surely it would be carved in relief. Our concept of nationality is by nature as inclusive as it is exclusionary. If you know what you are, you know what they are not.
What makes successful societies? History would suggest successful societies are the ones that can stay technologically progressive. To be progressive you need to be able to support different ideas and possess the ability to debate them, that requires maintaining respect for each other, avoiding personal attacks and emotional appeals. Ironic then so called 'progressives' are unable to do that. Jordan Peterson, love him or hate him suggests it's the conformity of values that provides the glue. I would be happy to hear a more convincing alternative, but I think values and priorities drives everything. Again, looking backwards over the last few 1000 years, religion mostly provided the framework for shared values.
Identity
I would like to differentiate cultural identity with national identity.
Both terms are frequently misused by the extremes of politics to deliberately confuse and drive division.
In modern democracies, it should not be necessary for anyone to have a specific cultural identity. Case in hand, my ancestral background is far too diverse to sensibly maintain one. Forty percent of Australians said in the 2021 census they had no religion. I’d suggest the rise of wokeness and climate change is conclusive evidence many people were not ready to let go of organised religion. You need a country to live in, you don’t have to have a specific culture or religion. We just need to affirm a set of key values and agree to adhere to them. And I want to very clear I am not talking about rules or laws, but rather the core values a group of people must have to live together peacefully. Truth, Respect, Responsibility, and Compassion. All members of successful societies must possess all four in equal balance. Too much compassion and not enough truth, and you’ll have a sinking ship. Too little compassion and the ship will turn mutinous. It’s obvious humankind was not optimised to cope with the abundance we have in modern western societies. Humans have had a deficit of struggle for only .01% of our time. We need some valuable output for self and group validation. Simply telling someone they have done a great job when they haven’t, isn’t achieving anything. Suggesting that greater life satisfaction is gained from the journey, not the reward will get you cancelled.
The legacy identity ‘The Little Aussie Battler’
There are broad opinions held on Australia’s legacy national identity and its composition. Not at all surprising given Australia is a country comprised of human and cultural flotsam and jetsam. To understand our cultural origins, you will need to dig deeper than you might expect.
Most third generation+ Australians are living in denial over their ancestral origins. Australia’s history is a very dark place indeed. The cutesy colloquial stories of convicts being sent to Australia for stealing a loaf of bread and Captain Cook mistaking the land as uninhabited are simply misleading at best. Stories of Aboriginal tribes living in any kind of utopia pre-European settlement are equally so.
Only the worst criminals were sent halfway around the world from England (it was hideously expensive).
Even those without convict pasts, like my Irish and German ancestors have histories full of omissions. Nobody uprooted themselves from their ancestral home unless things were desperate. Once more this continent to be named Australia was undeniably inhabited. The fact remains the land was taken regardless of what the existing people felt about it. They simply didn’t have the weapons to repeal the British nor the sense of ownership to feel the need. Indigenous Australians were going to be defeated eventually, and the British were easily the least bad of invaders.
Perhaps a superficial identity is all we can realistically expect when so many of our cultural foundations cannot even be spoken about. There are educators claiming national identity is inherently racist, even dangerous. There is no shortage of people who fear nationalism is a hop skip and a jump to Nazism.
If the Aussie Battler identity is valid, it must draw from the Eureeka Stockade rebellion. Although tarnished for years via relentless hijacking from far-left groups, the rebellion was a revolt against the British administration. An identity in relief. It is ironic then; our flag features the British ensign flag. As for the rest of the flag, it features the southern cross star formation. I am left assuming people were staring at the sky at night wondering how in hell they got stuck so far from civilisation. In the early days of settlement few wanted to be here. Even by the late 1800’s the only people venturing to Australia were merely looking to survive. Both sides of my family came to Australia out of desperation. The Irish side because of the economic and social collapse following great famine. The German side because of the poor economic conditions and ultimately the death of the family patriarch. The Little Aussie Battler character was derived from numerous failures and the perceived tenacity in the face of it. The Anzac Spirit is perhaps the ultimate example of this. I’ll include a link at the end of this post about that, if you are unaware of it.
Is it practical to have a National Identity today?
At high school I was told multicultural societies were more resilient. Back in the 80’s it was easier to hoodwink children into thinking this was true. Australia had a policy of skilled immigration and affordable housing. Without a great deal of residual intergenerational wealth being rubbed in anyone’s face. We all felt pretty much equal. Multicultural was as I remember it, just different cuisines. But it would be misleading to infer there was less racism… there was a lot more on show than there is today. But likewise, it wasn’t so taboo. Today in Australia the wealth gap has increased for two reasons. Our legacy families have built significant intergenerational wealth and house prices have forced many out of the primary wealth builder for most ordinary people. Today we have entire streets where the median house price is above $10M. All the while we are still importing skilled workers and increased unskilled refugees. Unless they arrive with a significant nestegg they have little chance of affording a house near their workplace. Skilled migrants understandably want to live and work in the major cities where the work is. Imagine moving to a country expecting a better life to find there are in fact less opportunities. Separate from the housing affordability problems there are significant cultural gaps between migrants and the indigenous populations. Communities used to be able to absorb a certain volume of migrants and refuges at a certain rate, but it’s finding that balance that is key. We want to avoid the formation of isolated enclaves and encourage a dispersed settlement.
Building blocks for Aussie 2.0?
Firstly, national identities always arrive organically, derived from historical characters and events. Australia’s colonist history is off the table and so would most modern figures and events. Borrowing from indigenous culture is unlikely because indigenous cultures are highly protective of their own cultural assets. Either way Australia’s recent migration levels (1.4 million?) would almost certainly make this a challenge. Would it then be possible top derive one from modern identities and events? A cursory look at ‘top 10 famous Aussies of all time” and I can confidently say, no. That leaves us bushfires and home invasions.
Tall Poppy Syndrome.
Eureka Rebellion.
Sydney Opera House.
Anzacs.
