Lifting the cultural gaze toward unity with diversity
a new horizon of unity with diversity
One of the concerns about a YES vote to the Voice referendum was the fear it would create division. BUT . . . what if a division of cultures was a step toward recognition, reconciliation, and closing the disadvantage gap experienced by First Nations people? What if we truly took to heart that this Country now known as Australia is multicultural/multifaith, including the culture of the First Nations people?
Shireen Morris argued in her book Radical Heart: Three Stories Make Us One, that three cultural groupings inhabit this land. The first cultural grouping is the indigenous people who for over 60,000 years have lived within and tended to Country. According to Emeritus Professor Joseph Camilleri, the First Nations people have gained much wisdom over such a huge expanse of time, especially in terms of tending to land. Also, they have shown a remarkable survival instinct evidenced by surviving the last ice age, as well as surviving the colonialist onslaught (Conversation at the Crossroads event, 20th October 2023).
In addition to the first cultural grouping is the second grouping comprising the 200+ years of a predominantly United Kingdom colonial settlement involving convict and free settler people. The third cultural grouping is the immigration of people from various countries who sought or were driven (refugee people) to find their future in a land other than their birthplace. These three cultural groupings make Australia what it is today.
Within the context that Australia is made up of three particular cultural groupings, how can we work together for the common good of all? One way is to seek unity with diversity, rather than sameness. Diversity here means the recognition that each cultural grouping is unique in its own right and has its rightful place within the whole, while at the same time, recognising that each cultural grouping is interwoven within the very fabric of Australian life. Therefore, the people of each cultural grouping can live into their unique identity, while at the same time working together for the common good of all. So, unity with diversity recognises and celebrates the diversity of cultural groupings within the one greater story of this land itself. Furthermore, at this time in history, each cultural grouping has a contribution to make to the lives of all the people of this land.
In summary, quoting the words of the Australia reMADE team: “From No, to a different kind of Yes” (info@australiaremade.org), may a different kind of Yes lift our collective gaze toward a new horizon, a new horizon orientated around unity with diversity. Such a new horizon can incorporate the recognition of the wisdom and remarkable survival instincts of First Nations people, as well as the disadvantage gap that colonialisation has wreaked upon them.
