Today is Australia Day, the national holiday celebrating the arrival of of the First Fleet of convicts to Australia in 1788.
Over the years, there have been calls to change the date, celebrate something other than the start of multiple harsh prison sentences or make it a day of national mourning on behalf of the people who were already here and were subsequently subjugated.
It can sometimes be bit controversial, to say the least.
However, it’s currently Australia’s national day. The weather is usually pretty good and workers get a day off to go to the beach, barbecue and drink beer. Most Australians you talk to are pretty happy about the national holiday and see no reason for it to change.
How do I know most Australians feel this way?
Because a survey in 2019 showed exactly that. 72% of the Australians surveyed don’t care enough to support a change. Plenty of similar surveys repeat these findings.
Hold that thought in your head for a moment.
Now try this thought experiment; imagine you were the agent of an enemy country and you had managed to gain influence on the editorial decisions of a national newspaper. What would be the theme of the news articles and opinion pieces you would commission on the host country’s national day?
Would it look something like this?
As at 11am this morning, those were the headlines, in order, on the Sydney Morning Herald’s front page.
Nation building stuff, eh?
Now, please don’t misunderstand me or place words in my mouth. I am not saying the SMH editors should not be allowed to commission so many articles of such a similar theme, I’m also not saying the editors are traitors or unpatriotic.
I am, however, pointing out the massive disconnect between the views of the overwhelming majority of the country and the very obvious theme being presented by this newspaper. Nobody can be in any doubt as to where the SMH sits on the “whither Oz Day?” question.
Meanwhile, most Australians don’t actually even consider it a question worth asking.
Bill’s Opinion
If President Xi wanted to run a subversion operation in the Australian media, it would probably not look very different to today’s Sydney Morning Herald.
I doubt that is what this is, but it’s remarkable how much similarity is hiding in plain sight.
I’m sure the writers of these articles have the best of motivations, they would genuinely like to see significant improvements to the welfare and lives of indigenous Australians. Writing these articles probably makes them feel they have helped.
One might cynically ask them, “What tangible actions have you personally taken, such as donating money or time to an Aboriginal charity, or did you think banging out 300 words about the morals of people long dead was enough?“.
As for the commissioning editor, I would ask the following question, “Are you getting paid by President Xi or is this just pro-bono?”
What’s the issue with Kerry O’Brien (and who the fuck is he and why would I care?) and Margaret Smith Court (yes, I know who she is, and I do care)?
I’ve tried not to look too deeply as it is extremely uninteresting to me, but I believe he is upset that somebody suggested he might try getting an age appropriate haircut for the first time in two decades.
OTOH after the shamefully obsequious non-reaction to lockdown, Scotty, Dan Druff et al. could announce by executive order that the name of the country had changed and nary a squeak. To save a lot of time they could annex the country to China and rename it Limp Dong or similar. The names of the states will have to change as well. Queensland and Victoria, well. New South Wales, well the sheepgrinders are an oppressed minority back home so that might stay. Twentysix Jan could become the Day of National Shame.