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Syria… Schmyria.

What is this sudden inclination to bomb Syria all about? Despite marginal opposition, the bombing of ISIL targets in Iraq faced no real naysayers (except those that would never agree with any military action by Australia under any circumstances). Sharpening a bayonet is anathema to those people. They are the same people who would be speaking German or Japanese by now if it wasn’t for the efforts of millions of Australians who were willing to put on a uniform and learn to shoot. Enough about them. Darwinism will sort them out in a couple of hundred years anyway.

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Back to the real world. When ISIL reared its quite ugly and teatowel-draped head, the marginally representative government of Iraq welcomed our involvement (after John Howard had convinced everyone that our invasion of that country was ok because they had weapons of mass destruction…) Remember WMDs? No? That’d be because Johnnie and his mates George Dubya Bush and Tonywhatshisname couldn’t find any to justify the invasion… Bugger.

So, at worst, in Iraq we are cleaning up the mess Johnnie Howard got us into while we really weren’t paying attention… But this time, there is no excuse for being distracted. Oi! Stop watching AFL, ARL and wogball on the weekend! We have real questions of life and death to deal with here!

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Problem is, yet again, it isn’t actually our lives and deaths that are involved. That’s becoming a pattern. Unless, of course, by pure arse, a RAAF pilot gets shot down with a machine gun by some Syrian faction we can’t pronounce, in a place we couldn’t get within 1000 km of on one of those spinning globes. So, apparently it’s ok to drop taxpayer-funded high explosive on targets in Syria without really understanding what it’s about, or who is who…

Over here! Syria! It is in the Middle East! (audience glazes over). Asked to point at the Middle East on a map, Friday afternoon happy hour guy places his index finger on Belize. (Sorry, Belize, that was a close call…, you are lucky I was here, and I know you are actually in South America)

Syria

No excuses this time, Australia. If you let Captain Tony Rabbit and his merry flag-bedecked squadron send our RAAF to bomb Syria, we might as well become the 51st state of the United States. Get a grip and send an email to your MP. The widget to work out who your MP is, is here. A list of their email addresses is here. Don’t say you didn’t get the warning…

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Patriotism is the last refuge…

Bob Dylan’s lyrics to 1983’s “Sweetheart Like You” (Infidels) go like this:

They say that patriotism is the last refuge

To which a scoundrel clings

Steal a little and they throw you in jail

Steal a lot and they make you king

Of course, these words paraphrase those of Samuel Johnson, who like many Enlightenment thinkers, railed against false patriotism. In 1775, Johnson declared, “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”.

Whether it is “Team Australia“, ministers stripping people of their citizenship based on “intelligence”, or the fact that many of his media conferences have a backdrop of up to 10 flags arrayed behind him, people have been asking questions about the Prime Minister’s take on patriotism and what it means for Australians and our society.

The Race Discrimination Commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, wants us to reclaim patriotism from groups and individuals who want to use the language and symbols of patriotism to exclude minorities. He says patriotism should be a unity ticket; a bulwark against racism, not a tool used by the intolerant to perpetuate intolerance.

a black and white photograph of a group of soldiers
Sergeant Reg Saunders (right), 1943

If patriotism is “love of country”, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are the most patriotic of us all. Despite being placed in missions, having children taken from them, and not even being counted in the census, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians had to overcome many other obstacles to enlist to fight for Australia in both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. Some had to pretend to be of Afghani or Indian origin to enlist. Even now, they have to face discrimination if they want to serve their country.

But that is not how some perceive patriotism. Some regard it as “patriotic” to defend Australia from any criticism at all. The “Love it or leave it” brigade. Pretty hard to leave if your ancestors have been here for at least 45,000 years, especially when the person telling you what you should be doing has roots in Australian soil that go back, at best, less than 250 years.

No society can remain healthy and continue to grow without criticism, without change. There are many things about Australia we can all be proud of, but there are plenty that could be improved, and a few that we should be downright ashamed of. Real patriots can be proud, critical and ashamed of their country all at the same time.