Let’s speak up and defend our national identity
Cory BernardiAustralia is a country that has benefited greatly from diversity.
Being from migrant stock, I have personally benefited from migration and the infusion of other cultures into our nation. Yet, while our culture is drawn from many countries and customs, it is still one thing: it is a culture made up of a set of core values that should be reflected in every living room right across the nation.
These values are grounded in the rule of law, democracy, freedom of religion and equality of all people. So, when talking about a national culture, we need to focus on what binds us together, such as our language and social inheritance, for as Abraham Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’
When migrants come to Australia we should, as Roger Scruton says, ‘welcome them into our culture, not beside or against it’.
It is not enough for us to be what David Cameron calls a “passively tolerant society” — that is, a society that says to people, “You can do as you wish, even if you breach our common social covenant, as long as it is within the law.” A country will never be united, it cannot be strong and confident, if it follows that path. Cameron went on to say:
… a genuinely liberal country does much more. It believes in certain values and actively promotes them.
He continued:
It says to its citizens, this is what defines us as a society: to belong here is to believe in these things. Now, each of us in our own countries, I believe, must be unambiguous and hard-nosed about this defence of our liberty.
Australians should always be ready to say “no” to the path of isolation and separatism and “yes” to embracing our common values.
It is right for us to ask therefore: what benefits come to our country when we encourage people to isolate themselves from their fellow citizens? How does separation help us to maintain a society that needs to be united by our shared values to be ready to tackle the future?
I will always, unashamedly, advocate for core Australian values, a strong and cohesive society and a united Australia. Yet, in today’s age, defending Australia’s cultural institution and values is not without personal risk. For to do so requires questioning the practices and ideologies that threaten Australia’s social compact and that threaten the things that bind us as Australians together.
Of course, we need to respect individual freedoms and we must also recognise that, as Australians, we share in and are all part of a shared culture, a shared language and shared values. But we must be able to critically examine actions and ideologies when they are at odds with our own standards.
While we can be colourblind in all aspects of our society, we cannot afford to be behaviourally blind.
Why then is it that when people question the values or practices or conduct of those who subscribe to beliefs that are against our way of life, our democracy, our values, it is to subject themselves to personal slurs?
If the cost of raising legitimate community concerns, whether or not others actually agree with the question raised, leads to lies, smears, irrational accusations of racism and bigotry then we really do have a problem with free speech in this country. Too often we see hysterical and empty responses rather than sober and rational debate that deals with the subject matter itself. The question is: why?
Are we so afraid to distinguish between right and wrong that we will not even allow debate to take place? What are we afraid of admitting or actually discovering? That perhaps morality is not a relative thing and that our culture is unique and is worth preserving and defending? That there is an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of other nations? Surely we can only do so if we can examine those errors in a critical and open light.
Frankly, I do not want to see Australians lose the things that bind us together. I do not want to see Australia go down the path of so many other Western democracies that are now struggling to maintain their national identity.
Take Britain, for example. Britain’s chief rabbi sums it up like this:
The British started seeing their own history as an irredeemable narrative of class, snobbery, imperialism, racism and social exclusion. It was in this atmosphere that, in the 1970s, multiculturalism was born. It said: there is no need to integrate.
This, says the rabbi, led to the disintegration of national identity. He continues:
Multiculturalism, entered into for the noblest of reasons, has suffered from the law of unintended consequences. By dissolving national identity it makes it impossible for groups to integrate because there is nothing to integrate into, and by failing to offer people pride in being British, it forces them to find sources of pride elsewhere.
Letting people separate themselves from society will not make Australia stronger. Allowing people to devalue Australian culture will not make us more united. Sitting idly by while our society becomes more fragmented will not make Australia a better place to live.
The “whisper zone”
A strong, confident Australian identity is a source of pride and provides a sense of belonging. So why wouldn’t we be prepared to fight for it? Why wouldn’t we challenge those who seek to undermine it? We simply cannot afford to be afraid to speak out against those who seek to undermine our national identity and our shared culture and values.
It is little wonder that Australians feel as if they are trapped in what I call the “whisper zone”.
What is the “whisper zone”? It is a product of political correctness. Those who speak publicly—normally these are people of a conservative or traditional viewpoint—are too often shouted down, mocked and derided simply for expressing a point of view that does not align with the prevailing PC orthodoxy. This has the effect of silencing people because they are afraid of being intimidated and ridiculed. In effect, they are reduced to whispering their views to others.
I have consistently defended the Australian way of life, including freedom of religion. I have also questioned the public indulgence of practices and ideologies that I do not agree with, and I have endured all sorts of abuse for simply voicing that opinion.
As a politician, I am not precious; I do have a very thick skin. I can handle the insults that are aimed at me and, indeed, exposing the hypocrisy of others is strangely empowering. But somehow it seems okay for other members of this parliament, including Senator Xenophon, Senator Bob Brown, the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Senator Chris Evans and more, to voice their concerns about particular groups, but it is not okay for me to express my own concerns.
These are concerns that have been expressed right around the world — in many cases they have been aired too late to have done any good.
While words of abuse from this government, which demonstrate to me just how out of touch they are with mainstream Australia, do not bother me, I do worry about the effect that their actions have on the wider Australian community.
How many people have witnessed the personal slurs and illogical charges of racism and bigotry towards me and are now too scared to voice their own opinions for fear of being vilified too?
Every time I speak out in defence of our values I receive a wave of support from everyday Australians who share my concerns, but they tell me they are too afraid to speak publicly.
Time and time again we hear conservative voices—voices that seek to protect our traditions and way of life—shouted down by those who simply do not have room for another opinion. The important issues are lost in a blitz of character assassination, vitriol and misrepresentation.
I say: no more. It is time for us to break out of the whisper zone because what is at risk if we stay silent is simply too precious to lose.
We cannot afford to lose our culture or our guiding principles. We cannot afford to lose the unity that comes from our shared values and sense of community.
Compared to a financial balance sheet, a cultural balance sheet is almost impossible to restore once it is lost.
We have to take a stand; otherwise we risk going down the same path as some other Western nations.
Of course, we can continue to celebrate diversity but when uncritical tolerance undermines that which unites us, we cannot and we should not stay silent. As David Cameron said:
At stake are not just lives, it is our way of life.
Cory Bernardi is a South Australian Liberal senator. His columns and essays are available at his website.
It’s true, the importance of ones identity; many have been Australians deprived of theirs and they are born here without a voice such as Cory Bernardi albeit with the freedom to speak.
A great piece of reality talk Senator Bernardi. It’s like getting a breath of fresh air. It seems commonsence is no longer that common these days. We can embrace the Muslim as a human being but Islam, which regulates their lives is incompatable with our Western society. Therefore we will clash. Its as inevitable as the Titanic sinking. Australia is in a much better place then Europe, England and the USA who are all struggling with the onslaught of Islam. At the heart of Islam is Sharia. Sharia is what dictates every aspect of the Muslim’s life. Some of these dictates are so alien to the our Westminster system of law … and we must not permit Sharia to replace the Australian Constituion. We need to legislate to that effect or we will lose the battle for our children and grandchildren.
Keep up good work Cory. Re the carbon tax can your researchers confirm or otherwise the science of following – “16 semi mature trees 3/5 years old will absorb the atmospheric carbon dioxide outputs of a typical family per annum (from cars,heating and waste). Just 16 trees – if this is even remotely correct makes you really wonder about the carbon dioxide tax. Thankyou for the chance to speak up.
What happens when the tree dies? It decomposes and releases its carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere..
Congratulations Cori for telling part of the truth . But you have left out the other half. The right have been responsible for open door immigration policies based on simple greed and driving down wage rates. It has take both false compassion from the left and plain old fashioned greed from the right to destroy Britain and it is the same here. It will take both left and right working together to fix it up. Unless you are willing to acknowledge the fault of the right we cannot go forward together. Unless we work together extremism will win. Have the courage to admit this and become a real leader!
Good article. The Whisper Zone – I love it. That is exactly what I do.
I was discussing multiculturalism / immigration with another women a week or so ago. It got messy, for each of my concerns she asked me the question “How do you think the Aborigines felt when the British settled Australia?” In her eyes immigrates could do no wrong and everything seemed to be the fault of the British.
This lady identified as Irish with some Aboriginal blood. She had no children and was most likely in her sixties. I felt that it was okay for her to take the moral highroad, because by the time things started to go seriously wrong, she would have passed away.
At one point during our discussion she stated “we are all immigrants, only the aborigines aren’t”. I politely informed her of the definition of immigrant, which is when someone moves from one country to another, and pointed out that I was born in Australia so I was not an immigrant but a native.
It was a frustrating conversation and very depressing that people live in such airtight PC bubbles where they relish in being ‘nice people’ and don’t consider any facts.
Senator Bernardi,
A great writing and return to logical, truth and the value of freedom to speak.
Also Statesmanship, which is sadly lacking in politicians today,self interest and self promotion has been at the forefront of politics for many years, and you have set a standard that should be followed by all in the political arena.
On the topic of carbon tax- what family would deny there siblings the right to prosperity. Family units are enviromentalists, for if they destroy the land ,fauna and seas, they deny future prosperity to thier children.
A carbon tax will erode and destroy prosperity for families and future generations.
Your articles and actions are inspiraitional to many, in times of great uncertainty.
I love what you term as the “whisper zone” which IS VERY MUCH designed as a tool to intimidate those who value free speech into silence.
To a certain extent the Carbon (Dioxide!!!) Tax is being defended with the same tool. “Whisper Zone” is infringed by the Mum/Dad protestors who have been declared as malcontent dinosaurs. Done so because they have crossed the line of pc-ism.
Thus acknowledging that we have tolerated a couple of racial groups who return our tolerance with the misunderstanding that this tolerance is a sign of weakness. So they have built a culture of contempt for us. They are aided by the “whisper zone” tool by the pc brigade. And they use this ignorance of pc-ism as a shield.
But this won’t go away. It will get worse unfortunately …
I wish, Senator Bernardi, that you could be our Prime Minister. Everything you have written resonates with me. There is much that is wrong with our country, and I feel that the fault of it lies fairly and squarely with multiculturalism, social engineering and politcial correctness. I was only a child in the 60’s and 70’s but even then I knew those decades to be simpler, nicer, safer, more straightforward than the present. The socialists, the progressives, the Left have done terrible harm to our country – and we feel its effects from the cradle to the grave. I work in childcare and every day I see either the conditioning of the Left on the minds of our most innocent children, or the breakdown in society as the strength of families is slowly eroded away. We need strong Conservative voices in our parliament, in our universities, in our courts and schools. Our culture, our national identity is not only being eroded by multiculturalism, but by the nihilistic attitudes of many who profess to be our betters, by the elites. Youth, striving for meaning in their lives turn instead to Green ideology, when really at its very essence, Green ideology is anti-human. Sorry to ramble on, but something must be done to try and turn Australia around, and back into the light.
Well done Cory, very well written. I suppose a recent example of the vitriol and charachter assasination expressed recently was that of the left when denouncing the anti carbon dioxide protest at Parliament House. It wasn’t only Tony Abbot that copped it but the protesters themselves. It goes to show how this current government holds the average punter and anyone who disagrees in contempt. Keep up the good work, don’t be silenced.
A most succinct statement, Cory, but then again, all of us that follow your writings have come to expect nothing less. You said: “While we can be colourblind in all aspects of our society, we cannot afford to be behaviourally blind” and I think this is the focus point. Unless we separate culture from race in our increasingly angry conversation, nothing will be achieved. Any thinking person supports ethnic diversity and multi-racialism: the science of genetics is on the side of diversifying the gene pool and any dog breeder or horticulturist can attest to the advantages of hybrid vigour but State Multiculturism is the mortal enemy of the Western concept of individual liberty. The forces of liberal-left political correctness are directly responsible for the world moving towards the facist right. When reasonable people are shouted down and labelled ‘racist’ for simply voicing valid concerns, then they will have no choice but to shift their allegiance reluctantly to parties that will listen. It continues to astound me that Tony Abbot remains on the sideline in the debate on the incompatibility of Islamic law with western democracy. I think the current national mood of growing impatience with promiscuous tolerance would support a Liberal party led by Cory Bernardi, apparently the only one among them with the courage and knowledge of Islam to do so. Ronald Reagon devoured everything he could on communism following that old truism ‘know your enemy’ and it was this knowledge fuelled by ethical certainty that led to the final defeat of the Soviet global push for a Communist world. We need more Cory Bernardis who are prepared to inform themselves so that they can speak with authority on the subject. The Liberal party may take temporary satisfaction from its performance in the NSW elections but should note with caution, the rise of Pauline Hanson. Unless the voices of conservatives remain informed, committed and strong, power will shift to single issue parties of the right. The Middle East is disintegrating into what will most likely be the beginnings of an Islamic Caliphate. Unless the West wakes up and makes its stance now, a massive military response to protect Israel will be inevitable and this will be followed by uprisings in Western nations from Islamic ghettos.
Well said Cory!
Thank you for being was is seemingly a lone voice in the parliament to stand up for our rights. The rights of the silent majority.
Thank you
I think you’ll find when Abraham Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,’ that he was quoting Jesus Christ.
Great stuff Cory. You are a light in a dark place.
One thing I can’t comprehend is why we feel that we must answer to the criticism and slurs of those who oppose a conservative viewpoint to the point of being apologetic. It is the one fault I find in Tony Abbott that has really tended to gall me from time to time. To his credit in the past week or so he has stood up and given back what he has got – perhaps because of how outrageous the Labor / greens hypocrisy has been over the recent anti “carbon” tax marches – but often Mr Abbott seems to feel a need to justify his position to his opponents. (I would think that your political opponenets slagging you off and wishing that the Liberal party had a different leader would be a grand compliment to be answered with a resounding “thankyou I am obviously the right man for the job because you dislike me so much.”)
I am an unashamed conservative who loves this country and the freedom that centuries of British men and women ,common and noble fought to attain from the hands of despots who thought they had a divine right to live above the law. Few countries can boast such a heritage which, despite it’s ups and downs, has given more liberty, more happiness and more prosperity than the alternatives which most countries still suffer under. The left idolise systems that oppress and kill in the name of utopia, I don’t get why we think we should measure ourselves against their defective worldviews. It probably has something to do with allowing our kids to be educated by a system that hates the West because of the Christendom that built it.
A well written and well argued article. It’s time to take a stand against this tyranny. Everyone is entitled to their respectful opinion, no matter what Senator Brown and like-minded media ideologues may shout.