Patriotism for Good and Not Evil

I’ve waited patiently over the last few days to read or hear a single reasonable comment on the Big Day Out flag banning issue. I guess it shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise to me that I’ve waited in vain. All of the mainstream media in Australia has taken the announcement that Aussie flags were being discouraged at the concert as an invitation to whip up nationalistic hysteria and to cry political correctness murder. Prominent politicians have also joined to the chorus of outrage, including the obvious suspects: Howard ("The proposition that the display of the Australian flag should ever be banned anywhere in Australia is offensive…”), Rudd ("This is political correctness gone mad") and Premier Iemma ("You can't stop people from showing pride in their country in this way”).

Everyone, it seems, has missed a couple of key points. Firstly, the concert organisers are right to have concerns about misuse of the flag (as a “gang colour” or otherwise) after a series of incidents at least years events. Big Day Out patrons were allegedly harassed and assaulted by flag waving idiots. Last years concert also closely followed the Cronulla Riots, where similar racist behaviour sought cover beneath the Southern Cross. In short, there are a minority of people who are seeking to misuse the Australian flag, as a rallying call to xenophobia and racism. This clearly needs to be addressed, but a ban has created to kind of hysteria that obliterates reasonable conversation.

This brings me to my second point. In a pitiful attempt to score cheap poll points, our political leaders have cashed in on the flag banning hype and have not even gone close to addressing the real concerns at the heart of the crisis. The media have been only too willing to inflame the situation with emotionally charged headlines and sound bites from outraged citizens. Nothing was cheesier though than the Channel 10 phone poll asking “should the Australian flag ever be banned?” – unsurprisingly 96% of 10,000 or so respondents voted no. What does that even mean?

Had I been running the country this week, my approach would have been to seize upon this opportunity to promote the sort of nationalism (patriotism, if you prefer), that can be healing for a nation. Nationalism is a two-edged sword, and can be used both positively and negatively. The distinction between racism fuelled nationalism (the Nazi type) – and the type that is inclusive of all is crucial. I have commented on taking back nationalism before. I would have lobbied the Big Day Out organisers to give out free flags to all concert goers and to emphasise a message of unity on Australia Day. The troublemakers would’ve been lost in a sea of red, white and blue flags – try gathering your gang at a banner that everyone is displaying.

It’s really a dangerous time for Australia on this issue. Premier Iemma, challenges Muslims in Lakemba to “bring it on” (he’s been watching too many Bush re-runs) and the Liberals stance on phasing out multiculturalism (and on mandatory detention) is well documented. Division of the country on racial or religious lines is no longer out of the question. The cure is inclusion, the good sort of patriotism and the sooner we move in that direction the better.