Australia Vs Canada - Diversity
After an incredible 3 plus weeks in Canada (which was the trip of a lifetime!) I came back to Australia and reflected - Canada is a wonderful country, things of great beauty and scenery that looks like it has been photo shopped but what I took away more than anything else was that in Canada Diversity is CELEBRATED - from the Prime Minister down; there is a pride and an acknowledgement of culture, from first nations people to all people who make Canada their home. Same sex marriage is accepted and celebrated and there was very little debate in relation to immigration. In Australia I realised that one the whole diversity is TOLERATED - not celebrated, if people do not "conform" with "traditional" values they are called unAustralian and worse still told by elected officials to "go back from where you came from!". For Australia to be truly GREAT we need to wake up and realise we are doing ourselves a dis -service.
As an Aboriginal person in Australia I am torn, as we at times seem to be tolerated not celebrated and then the focus is on recognition, not correcting but simply recognising our existence. I want more! I want to be recognised as FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE - I want my people and history to be more than recognised I want it to be CELEBRATED. I want love to be seen as love whether that is same sex or anything else - LOVE should be celebrated!
Canada taught me so much and made me want more from my country, Australia is a great place in many respects and we have a lot to be proud of but it is time to really look at how we do things and acknowledge that tolerance is not the answer - accepting people for who they are and where they come from is a far better way to build relationships and understanding. I have had people tell me directly things like - "You are smart for an Aboriginal person" and they view this as a compliment - I want the Australia of the next 20 years to grow up and I want REAL LEADERSHIP!
Canada also has Mounties. What's not to love. Coming from the UK (a while ago now), I realise that yes Australia is lucky. The weather is generally fabulous, the food is fresh and the beaches are soft, but so can the leadership be. We haven't had a decent people Leader in this country for a while. Some things have been achieved for trade, business and $$, but the focus needs to be brought back to bringing people together again and preventing the ever growing divide. We need someone to stand up and put the media back in its place (report news don't create it), pass marriage equality and dance at Mardi Gras, celebrate the heritage of the Aboriginal people, acknowledge and celebrate that cultural diversity from migrants continue to support and help Australia grow, and most of all, put an end to the hate talk. Actually, can we borrow Justin Trudeau when you're done?
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8yI was born and raised in Montreal, and have two half indigenous sisters and one half indigenous brother, my godson is indigenous and there are problems there as well, but when I moved to Australia about 16 years ago, I assumed that and was told that Australia is a lot like Canada but has better weather and no ice hockey. But, it was like a slap in the face how much different the views on Diversity are here. To me it is a Full Circle problem, as sometimes it seems everyone distrusts everyone and you cannot point the finger and blame - well maybe you can, politicians here in most part, not all that good and the two party system doesn't work - what works in Canada is we have a large population of French who want to separate, so it creates a 3 or 4 party system and keeps politicians from being as corrupt as they are here. Don't get me wrong, love Australia, maybe we get more French people over here and create ice hockey rinks.... : )
PHD Candidate Doctorate of Philosophy (Indigenous)Diversity Excellence Research Fellow at Uni of Melbourne - Learning to live by the 3 Teachings of my Ancestors - Modestly, Mutually and Fearlessly
8yGreat article PAUL BRANT in the CultuRecode Model lmy hope is to show why we do not speak the same language (Anglo Saxon Australians and Ancient Australians) and how we can work together respectfully with each of our core value cultures still in tact. Having such an accepting leader sure helps