The 26 of January is Australia Day but Australia Day is no 4th of July. Infact, I have grown a mild apathy towards it bordering on hostility in recent times. Australia day celebrates the landing of the First Fleet on Australia soil in 1788, only twelve years after the American Declaration of Independence was signed. Our own “Declaration of Independence,” known as Federation, was infact signed in 01 January 1901, but as that date is already a holiday it doesn’t get much attention. Here is why my apathy is melding into a growing antipathy for this “special day”:

Bogans

When one thinks of the 4th of July one might conjure up images of family picnics, patriotic parades, concerts, fireworks and a reason to wave the American flag. Unfortunately, our 26 of January has been overrun by Bogans. According to Wiki, a bogan is usually pejorative or self-depreciating description of an Australian (pronounced as ‘straaain’ in bonan-speak) who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background.

An Australian Day Favorite of the Bogan

Easily spotted, they will drape the Aussie flag over their shoulders like it’s some magical cape, drink far more alcohol than is medically safe, and educate anyone within earshot on why all foreigners who come to Australia should learn to speak English – ironically.

“Aussie Day”, as they call it, is a holy day for Bogans who descend onto picnic areas en mass, and reserve large areas of prime firework vantage point by laying out numerous picnic blankets, just in case their whole neighbourhood should happen to be in the area.  Gett’n fark’n smaaashed is the order of the day, and the usual behavioural pattern will follow something along the lines of Happy Drunk, Loud Drunk, Obnoxious Drunk, Angry Drunk, Violent Drunk, Arrested Drunk. The ripped Aussie Pride shirt is almost always a certainty.

Invasion Day

Australian Aboriginals have a slightly different take on Australia Day. For white Australia, Australia day is a day marked by self-determination and high-acheivement. For black Australia, it is a day that represents the loss of nation, of dependence, and subjection under the “white fella”, and it is these different experiences that have divided our nation for so long. As White Australia slowly recognises and acknowledges this unfortunate historic reality through the process of reconciliation, the continued celebration of colonialism will do nothing to expedite the aforementioned process.

Aboriginal Australian WW2 hero "Regi" Saunders

So why not celebrate Australia on other days? ANZAC Day is a logical choice. On the 25th of April 1915 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) experienced their baptism of fire on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula in southern Turkey, and many argue that it was on this day that a nation was forged. The love affair with King and Country also ended during the course of World War One and Australia transformed from obsequious Anglophile to proud Antepodes.  ANZAC day for me represents a day that I’m truely proud to be Australian. Not because of our “glorious military past”, on the contrary, ANZAC day that is absolutely anti-war, but it is a day we truely get to reflect on our past and learn from the mistakes we’ve made – it is a progressive day.

Sadly, I don’t feel the same spirit on Australia day. The good folk down at Juice Media have probably summed it up best in their wicked Rap-media video called “Australia Day”:

I’m just not savvy with Patriotism

William Ralph Inge once said, a nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbours. All of us are guilty of this. I’ve just tapped on Australia’s ancestry delusion above: not all ANZAC’s conveniently fitted into the forefather mould of the efficient and dependable larrikin, and in fact quite a few of the original ANZAC’s weren’t Aussies at all. What really bothers me about patriotism is when “love of country” acts as a xenophobic mantra for those blinded by ill-informed beliefs. Let it be clear that there is nothing wrong with loving your country – I love Australia for many reasons, including this wonderful lifestyle I am able to lead – but I recognise that it does have flaws and  feel equally privileged to be Australian because I can openly air my views without fear of persecution. Patriotism to me sounds a bit fanatical, tis all.

So, for me Australia Day is no 4th of July. I might celebrate it with a quiet beer and a snag (sausage), but I’m not going to demonstrate any patriotic zeal or paint the Aussie flag on my face, I’ll leave that to the bogans. I’ll leave you with Dr. Charile Teo’s Australia Day address, which is a wonderful example of love of one’s country and honest reflection.