So the organisers of the Commonwealth Games here in Australia have decided not to play God Save the Queen at the opening ceremony, even though the Queen will be there . . . . grrrr
This morning on the news there was an interview with a republican - of course they thought it was great the organisers had canned the anthem - why? - well, because the Games are an Australian sporting event - why in the world would they want to play the English national anthem??? Furthermore, the lovely young interviewee doubted that New Zealand or Canada would be complaining that their national anthem wasn't being played at the ceremony.
So I wanna know how New Zealand and Canada feel about competing in an Australian sporting event???
Only in Australia would anyone suggest that the Commonwealth games were an Australian sporting event. I'm calling it "so-busy-loving-myself-I-didn't-notice-the-rest-of-the-world-was-out-there" syndrome. It seems that everyone here suffers from this syndrome just enough to be really annoying. There is only so much "how great am I" "how great are we" "we are such winners" you can take!
Of course it is very UN-Australia to say things like this, and as an Australian resident, but not an Australian citizen it is considered inappropriate for me to say such things - if I don't want to embrace the Australian way, then I should, well, go home.
Of course, I'm the first person to say if you move to another country you should assimilate - and I do my best to immerse myself in the culture of any country I live in. I spent two years in England drinking as much beer as I could at every occasion I could - lunchtimes, Mondays after work etc - I complained religiously about the lousy weather like every good Brit should. (Not to mention that the reason I could stay in England and have all these great times was because I'm from New Zealand and am apart of the commonwealth, and they have this deal . . . . . anyway that’s all beside the point.)
As a new resident in Australia I'm doing all the right things - but when I don't agree with something - what can I say? I can voice my opinion - sure, but now there's a good chance I'll be considered un-Australian and asked to leave.
Now I hear - what’s the big deal - silly little blog that no one reads - who cares what you say on it??? But where is the line?? How far can I go?
As a resident do I have any rights?? Have I lost my freedom of speech because I'm not a citizen?? I pay taxes . .. . . lots of them . . . . I contribute my share, but because I don't vote, I don't get a say???
I wonder if people like me were at the forefront of Mr Costello's mind when he was preparing his speech last week about migrants adopting Australian values. Loving your country is a priority for every Australian, more importantly, you should be bold and brash about your love. Well, I'm neither bold nor brash and I only have so much love to give.
Should I pack my bags?
