"I'm ashamed to be Australian"

Very brief discussion on Saturday afternoon while at Roy's place. And something I have thought about quite a bit in the last year or so. We were discussing our current Howard government and how we seem to be following American footsteps... "I'm ashamed to be an Australian these days" (not a direct quote). You know what? I agree with that sentiment.

I think most of us know what makes us Australian. It's the mateship, being easy-going and being such nice people. That's a great thing to be known for. And even though we might hold that close to our hearts, that reputation is being tarnished. If it was being tarnished for small reasons I wouldn't give a shit. But it's happening because of a regressive and downright inhumane bunch of policies.

Iraq... asylum seekers... and recently the move towards altering the Marriage Act to prevent same-sex marriages from being recognised. Although this may be the actions of a few in high places trying to appease a conservative population, it's downright un-Australian. What is there about this kind of policy that has ANYTHING to do with caring??? What kind of people are we to let this go on IN OUR NAMES? This is important.

We are all refugees here except for our indigenous population. How can we allow a government to refuse entry to people who suffer in their home countries and are looking for a better life? Let's throw mateship out the window hey? But when it suits us we will take that lovely Australian slogan out and throw it about to make us feel better. Bullshit.

If you have any concern for these issues that are enforced in the name of Australia you will think ten times before electing John W. Howard. Make sure we have someone who is respectful of people, both here and in far away lands. And don't give the excuse about the economy being so great. If that's what you base your decisions on then humnanity has a long way to go.

Vote out Howard!



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