diary musings 16 Sept 2022
In shops all over the UK
Collecting institutions looking at the impacts of colonialism
Gordon Bennett quote at Tate Modern London
artwork by Gustav Metzger at the Tate Modern
I arrived in the UK on the 6th September 2022 and was here when whispers began to circulate that Queen Elizabeth the second had died or was dying on the 7th to be confirmed on the 8th. (These are some thoughts I wrote on 16th September 2022.)
With no disrespect to Elizabeth Windsor or her family, isn’t it time for Australia to become a republic?
The shackles of colonialism bind us to a sordid history of slavery, imprisonment, entitlement and gross inequality. The age of enlightenment was not so enlightened rather permission to advance the monarchy, imperialism and paternalism.
In these times of climate change, over population, over indulgence, and lack of parity for all, there is an opportunity to make a change. A change that does not come about through violence, anarchy or revolution but rather a realisation that old ways no longer serve us and indeed hold us back. Old ways that hold us back from truth telling, from a treaty, from the Uluru Statement From The Heart, from making amends, from going forward with first nations peoples and wisdom as a guide.
In England at this time, Elizabeths’ body has been toured through the country, the pomp and ceremony paid for by the people.( around 6-8 million pounds) Meanwhile I see more homeless on the streets, which are themselves falling into decay. Interest rates are on the rise, the pound has tanked yet the rich in the UK pay the least tax and seem to enjoy the most benefits, Seems this is an empire in descent or on the brink of implosion.
As humans we have an innate need for king making, a leader to follow. Yet do we understand what attributes a leader should possess outside the political party systems? And what then is the role of the constitution? Is this a roadmap for us as a nation and should that roadmap be updated as the landscape itself changes?
What do we get by being part of a commonwealth?
We are part of a club of 80 nations that contribute funds to joint commonwealth projects around $6,000,000 per year for Australia…… that is about it.
And what is nationhood and what are the symbols of a nation? A coat of arms; a shield bearing emblems important to Australians… If the emu, kangaroo, and wattle are so emblematic should they be protected? Showing allegiance to the king and country- what does that mean today and what is the cost of that allegiance? We have followed other countries blindly into battle only to be slaughtered at Gallipoli, Vietnam, Afghanistan. When are we truly threatened and when are we just cannon fodder for another’s army? What beef did we have with the Turks, the Viet kong or with the Afghanis? Have we forgotten that Afghan traders helped to build modern Australia? that we are situated in the Asia Pacific region, the southern hemisphere. Today we are Irish, English, Chinese, European, Vietnamese, Afghani, Islander, German, Middle Eastern, African and we are Aboriginal.
Imagine for a moment……
A First Australians council of wisdom and knowledge as advisors and custodians. Education or welcome to country for all non First Australians so we understand country and our environment in a real way. Preparation and cultural understanding training during our schooling, to induct us to place….. to be protectors of country, to understand wealth is not how much coin or property we own but how much we are able to give to country; to enrich this land, to make rivers flow, full of fish and birdlife, where insects are abundant, seas are bountiful, forests flourish and skies are clear. Where we live in harmony with this place and give more than we take.
We become a nation of shared and diverse stories told in many ways. We honour before we tear down.
We do not need a foreign king to achieve that.