Originally Posted by
Handbrake hates Camping
Actually that is not true.... there is a number of so called Peace keeping efforts that our servicemen and women fought in under the current flag. That is not to mention the first Gulf War in 1990 / 1991 and the current Gulf War in addition to Afghanistan.
In addition to the above. I was one of these servicemen who fought under the current flag, and unlike some others I personally don't like the Union Jack in the corner. Not going to get into an argument on its replacement. But from someone who served under it and who has friends who fought under it and aren't around anymore. The Union Jack is not part of modern Australia.
Doc
If you change the flag every time part of it is "not part of modern Australia", it will change every time there is a change of government (or more often). I am reminded of a treasure hunting expedition I read of in the 19th century, which made repeated resupply trips to a South American country, I can't remember which one, and found they had to sew up a new courtesy flag almost every visit! Also, this quote from Wikipedia "A 2004 NEWSPOLL which asked "Are you personally in favour or against changing the Australian flag so as to remove the Union Jack emblem?" was supported by 32% of respondents, and opposed by 57% with 11% uncommitted".
Similarly, the national anthem should not be changed just because taste in music has changed. And as for it being a dirge - remember that it is an anthem, intended for use on solemn occasions, not just a song. And if teachers do not know the meaning of the words, it is a reflection on the education system, not the anthem.
(the change to the present anthem was a political one, as was the rewriting to be PC - but that was a few years ago (1973), and it has been generally accepted. Although written long before Federation, it was used at the official declaration of federation in 1901, and was widely used as an unofficial anthem from then on, being promoted particularly by Labor governments. It became widely known (tune at least) after being adopted by the ABC to introduce news broadcasts from about 1940 until 1952, by which time almost every Australian would have known the tune.)
Both the flag and the anthem reflect the history of the country and for this reason there should be great caution in proposing change "a country with no history has no future".
As mentioned earlier in the thread, the Eureka flag has been compromised by being used politically by a small section of the community to represent themselves rather than the community as a whole, and in any case, to put it in perspective, the Eureka rebellion was a revolt against (admittedly not very equitable) taxes by a small group of men who were all in the "get rich quick" business, and many of whose leaders at least had been schooled in the California rush in the American way of violence.
Similarly the aboriginal flag is that of a section of the community, deliberately designed to represent that section and NOT the wider community, and as such, has no more claim than does, for example, a state flag, to be used as a national symbol.
John
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
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