War and Peace
As Australia Day approaches, we are once again thrust into the grips of the Culture Wars, perhaps a little more war-weary than usual after the referendum ordeal.
It got me thinking – what would it look like for the Culture Wars to end? No one is really asking this question. The combatants are so caught up in their struggle, do they even know what winning looks like? Can there even be a winner?
Like many Australians, I have respected friends and family in both camps, and I see the best and worst of each.
Both sides are, for the most part, well meaning. The “defenders” love Australia and are proud of our achievements and our history; they don’t want to see our country disparaged. They are committed to protecting our way of life from what they see as a slow, steady and deliberate attempt to subvert it and to resisting those who are trying to remake the narrative of who we are as a people. They live by Dr King’s creed to treat people according to the content of their character. They believe in equality of opportunity and as egalitarians they don’t like it when some groups receive special treatment. They believe material change is more important in dealing with injustice than symbolic acts.
Their opponents, the woke, are genuinely moved with compassion when they are confronted by the injustice of the world, and want to do something about it. Far from hating Australia, they want a national conversation that is honest, not one that glosses over the uncomfortable parts. Woke, like ‘Tory’ is both a pejorative and a badge of honour depending on who is using it. Woke means aware. Aware of injustice. Aware of poverty. Aware of the plight of indigenous Australians. Aware of the darker chapters of our history. Aware of others’ continuing experience of racism and discrimination. But it’s not enough to just be aware; for the woke it is important to use symbols and gestures to demonstrate that you are an ally to discriminated groups.
Conservatives often rail against symbolism as being meaningless, but in actual fact both sides are obsessed with symbolism. Dates, flags, ceremonies, place names, what paraphernalia a supermarket chain chooses to stock - the culture wars are almost entirely fought over symbols.
Both camps have an ugly side. Among the “defenders” are some unabashed racists fuelled more by bitterness than a love of Australia, and among the woke are some cynical virtue-signallers and anti-Australian radicals fuelled more by bitterness than a love of disadvantaged minorities. The mistake both sides make is in taking the very worst traits of a small few in the opposing camp and attributing them to the whole group. Both sides grossly misjudge the motives and the character of their opponents and the debate takes on a religious fervour where opponents are heretics and to be treated as such. To challenge the woke zeitgeist is to be branded a racist/homophobe/transphobe/misogynist and cancelled. Conversely to challenge our national mythology is to be branded an Australia-hating radical and hounded out of public life like Stan Grant. Until both sides can learn to show some humility and recognise the humanity and decency of their opponents, the wars will surely continue.
The wars will also continue so long as both sides want them to. There are some in the indigenous camp for whom no concession will ever be enough. There are some, especially on the conservative side, who actively fan the flames of the culture wars because they benefit, both politically and in the case of the media, financially.
Leaders on both sides claim to stand for unity, but their talk and their actions suggest this is mostly just lip service. In fact, what we get is division in the name of unity. How else to describe Albanese’s politicisation of the referendum, or Dutton’s recent flag stunt?
True unity, especially between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians can only come from a place of mutual respect and from listening. As Liberals, we find ourselves on one side of the Culture Wars and we can’t control what our opponents might say or do. What we can do is have some humility, listen without judgement to the stories and perspectives of those we disagree with, and above all, to recognise the humanity and best intentions of those we might otherwise be inclined to demonise.
The gross disadvantage experienced by indigenous Australians has many causes, some material but many psychological or even spiritual. Unless we address these causes all material help will be in vain. We should always remember that unlike other minorities, indigenous Australians never opted in to the Australian project, and their history is one of resistance and subjugation. We do not tell Jews to forget the past and move on, or that it’s not important because it happened to people who are now dead. How can we expect this of indigenous Australians? The healing of intergenerational wounds is a slow process and it calls for grace and a generous spirit on both sides, something Australians are eminently capable of.
I mentioned earlier Dr King, a hero from another era of Culture Wars. What set Dr King apart from Malcom X, and Nelson Mandela from his allies who wanted ‘Africa for Africans’, was that both men preached acceptance and respect for their deeply flawed opponents, and it was their humility as much as their strength of conviction that enabled them unite communities riven by the same discord and strife we see every year here on Australia day. We have plenty of conviction, we could do with an ounce more humility.