Today is a day of national pride. We "chuck a shrimp on the barbie" and celebrate all that it means to be Australian. To me being Australian means a sense of pride in the diversity and multiculturalism of our nation. We are a nation largely of convicts and refugees. We came here in search of a better life and I sincerely hope that everyone has found it. I know that I am probably in the minority, but please don't let me stand alone when I say this. Nothing makes me happier than walking down the street and seeing another person speaking on the phone or to a friend in a language other than English. Isn't that amazing? That person has, more likely than not, come from another country to be in Australia. Of all the countries in the world this person decided that there best chance at a brighter future lay in our country and I find that the greatest compliment available. These people who easily slip between their native tongue and English are intelligent individuals whose presence in our society can only enrich our culture. This may have selfish subtext coming from someone who thrives on Indian food and Asian teas, but I can't understand why we would not welcome these people with open arms and hearts.
On that note I want to mention that only 2.5% of our population identify as indigenous. I know that regrettably in the past, and even more regrettably, at present we have treated and still treat these people inhumanly. I am among the population that wholeheartedly regret and apologise for our treatment of indigenous Australians and believe that it is only these people that we have taken so much from that I feel have any right to hold any ownership over this country of ours. I deeply thank the traditional owners of our land for sharing this beautiful place with us and resent any early immigrants who believe that they have a divine right over this nation and show hostility towards additional immigrants and refugees who are, as their descendants once were, looking for a better quality of life on our shores. Our country is one of the least densely populated, and one of the most economically stable in the world. We have built our country on a foundation of Indigenous cultures, European settlers, English convicts, Chinese miners, Jewish refugees and Kanak slaves, just to name a few. So please remember this before you decide that you have any more right to be here than a man fleeing from prosecution from Iraq, Congo, Afghanistan, Syria or any other country suffering conflict today. They are likely in worse positions than your descendants were when they arrived.
In saying all of this I am not trying to deprive you in any way of a sense of nationalism. Be proud of your country for we are great and we have achieved so many great things. Just be inclusive with your pride, we all deserve our spot in this country and someone who received their citizenship last week is no less an Australian than a 5th generation Australian. Our country is a wealth of natural beauty and agricultural gold, let's celebrate that. We are a democratic nation of people free from the fears of war, poverty and prosecution, let's celebrate that!
So cheers Australia, here's to many more years of fortune, cultural growth and development!
Happy Australia day.
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