this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2024
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Overall Australia lacks culture and meaning, and has unfortunately become a mere economic zone. Probably why in part so many people are depressed and anxious.
Australia is brimming with culture and meaning. It doesn't have to be exotic or ancient to be 'culture'.
I think we do have our own culture otherwise we would still be a clone of Britain. We used to be but because of migration we are drifting further away from that which is a beautiful thing.
I think we still have an awful lot of Britishness in our institutions and so on. And probably a lot of globalist corporate and consumer culture now as well - hence the emptiness.
I am constantly aware that I work in a bubble of very smart, talented and fairly-paid people. That the people I work with aren't a slice of "average" Australia. But within that bubble of IT workers, we absolutely have that global cultural influence CEO was speaking about.
Then there's the kids. They go to school in a mix of kids from all over. Its a great equaliser. They don't know where their mates 'are from', almost everyone was born here. I get it from their names.
It's easy to look at the news and think our influences are all US/UK. But I think as each generation goes by, they'll be less central to what makes an Australian.
What emerges from that mix? I'm keen to see it. What we already have is clearly recognised by the British themselves as something distinctly separate from their culture.
I mean this in the most nicest way possible. Just because you feel emptiness it doesn't mean everybody else does. I'm an optimist and I'm gonna find the good in as much as I can.
To clarify, I wasn't suggesting everyone does feel this way.
However it must be said that my view on Australian life is hardly an outlier. Official statistics on mental health are alarming and rising, and these are official numbers, to say nothing of all the people that aren't being accounted for.
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health#%3A%7E%3Atext=20%25+or+4.8+million+Australians%2C9%25+in+2014-15.
To put it succinctly:
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Jiddu Krishnamurti"
You need to find your Ikigai (life purpose).
Colonial Australia does lack a meaning and culture, because they genocided, murdered, raped, and stole First Nations people, refused a Treaty with FN, and they barely have a presence in Parliament (by design). Settler Colonialism is inherently meaningless and cultureless for it's victims and those who vehemently disagree.
Similar things happened in Mexico but they still have a distinct culture. It's not quite the same I guess because the Mexicans recognise the Aztecs weren't the nicest people either so I guess it's more complicated.
But I think the fact that we were but a mere settler colony has a lot to do with it. Even then, the previous Christian traditions, whether you subscribe to them or not are also evaporating.
you know, defeating the Aztecs was the right thing, just like defeating the Nazis was the right thing
this Christian tradition is not the main defining tradition we have
we have a culture of trust, we trust that deals we make with other people will be upheld
we have a culture of enlightenment tolerance, we don't kill people for living or believing differently
we agree that customs and laws should protect the weak
For myself I am trying to be more forgiving and compassionate. Really looking at my own flaws and mistakes and then within that framework, keep that in mind when someone else is not being particularly nice. I like to imagine people as babies and ask myself, what happened to you in life for you to turn out this way?
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
It has always been an economic zone, that's what being a colony is.
If we want meaning and culture we have to create our own.
I think one of the greatest myths we are told in modern societies is that you have to do it all on your own and you have to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
The truth is life can be terrible. No man is an island and humanity needs each other. I think the lack of care leads to an awful lot of problems and it starts in childhood.
yes, humankind is naturally caring and co-operative
one of the aspects that differentiates our society from others is we have safety nets for those who don't have familial or social connections
( safety nets that have been eroded )
Yes I was going to say the safety net is basically non existent these days. If you don't have friends or family unless you can get out of hot water relatively quickly you are in real trouble.