Australian culture is worth fighting for!

“What Australian culture? Is it getting pissed while watching footy over a bbq?”

That was a response to someone’s post on X: “We must preserve Australian culture!”

I was stunned at the absurdity of the comment, so I waited a bit for someone else to provide an appropriate rebuttal but there was nothing deeper than “Get f-cked c-nt!” on the comment thread.

The discussion around Australian culture on social media is very disappointing. It has become apparent to me that members of both Left and Right-wing groups haven’t got a clue what Australian culture is about. It’s as if Australians have lost their sense of identity. Well, we can’t really expect much from the Left when it comes to preserving Australian culture because they seem to want to change the culture anyway. However, despite all the screeching about preserving Australian heritage, the Right don’t seem to know how to go about it either. They don’t know and can’t agree on how to “Make Australia Great Again”. Some say bringing back the White Australia Policy is the answer but that’s unrealistic and they might as well bring back the dead while they’re at it. There is a better and a more sustainable way. Besides, it’s not the skin colour that’s important, but the ideology of the people. After all, white Australians are still in charge right now and are the ones crafting policies that are charting the path of Australia’s future. Could it be that the left-leaning government is crafting the wrong policies?

Making a country great has a lot to do with the country’s output and relevance in the world stage. When you think of the Japanese, Italians or the Germans, for example, you instantly associate their culture with the qualities of excellence, precision and reliability in the products they produce. But what about Australia? Well, I always thought Australia had a reputation for being badass. I know it’s cliché, but this embodiment came from the image of Mad Max driving a 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT coupe. The term badass encompasses all that is good about technology and engineering but without the frills hence, making it relatable to the average Lachlan. It is also reliable just like Mad Max. Badass goes the extra mile and will keep going even when the going gets tough.

Sadly, Australia’s manufacturing industry is slowly going bust. As to the reason why is for another discussion. But the vanishing manufacturing industry is the reason why the society’s culture is going south. Australia used to be among the Top Five car manufacturing nations but that’s all in the past since there are no cars or much heavy machinery being manufactured in Australia anymore. Nowadays, the country is more known for mining raw materials to be shipped to China than manufacturing its own machinery and equipment for the local and international market.

What am I saying here? Are the products a country makes directly linked to its identity? Absolutely. It’s like art. Whatever art an artist creates mirrors the artist as a person. It’s an expression of one’s self. It’s the same thing for a society. Australia can’t even manufacture its own military equipment and must rely on countries like the United States or France to supply its submarines. Meanwhile, Japan and Germany – both countries that swore off arming themselves after World War II have easily gone back to manufacturing weapons again now that they feel there is an imminent threat of war. Both countries have a long tradition of manufacturing machines, which also helps their economy. Indeed, a great army makes a great country. Suffice to say, when it comes to self-sufficiency. Australia is not doing well on its own. Australia is not producing much that the people can be proud of. It’s no surprise Australians are losing their sense of pride and identity. Confidence comes from having the ability to produce tangible goods and defend one’s self against external threats.

Manufacturing aside, there is more to Australia than throwing a “shrimp on the barbie” or going to the pub. Those things are just popular activities Australians engage in while socialising. It is silly for some to say that’s all there is to Australian culture. It doesn’t even define the society’s culture. After all, Australians built a great country from scratch against all odds. Think about it, 200-odd years ago, Britain sent a bunch of misfits into a dry continent almost as big as Europe, and they still managed to build one of the best countries in the world in such a short period of time. Some societies can’t even bring their country to First World status despite all the funds funnelled into them by the international community.

What is it about Australians that made their country one of the best? Was it luck or hard work? It wasn’t just luck for sure. You can’t rely on luck alone when you’re faced with a harsh environment to start with and with your motherland thousands of miles away and most likely not even caring about what you’re going through. They just wanted the people they sent in to make it work no matter the circumstances. Is it the Australian climate then? Yes, it helps to be inspired by blue skies and a vast and breathtaking landscape, but you need to have passion and an enterprising spirit too and Australian pioneers have heaps of both to make things work and build a place to call home. I suppose you can say it was a bit of their migrant ethic plus a blueprint back home of the sort of country to build.

Still, Australians have a different culture from the British people. It’s the little nuances that sets it apart. Australian culture combines looking after each other with a healthy scepticism towards authority and social hierarchy. When, on a drive on the highway for example, you see another motorist on the other side of the road flash their lights it means “Slow down, mate. There is a cop up ahead.” I see many other simple everyday practices where Australians go one up beyond the core British respect for queues when they go out of their way to ensure everyone has a fair go at what the land of plenty has to offer.

Indeed, the notion of the fair go perhaps is what sums up Australian culture. Yes, whether you come down from tony Palm Beach or up from Mount Druitt, you still get a chance at getting the top job. That’s not something you can say about other societies with rigid social class systems. No one cares if you wear a Rolex watch in Australia. Those who do with an aim to impress are simply daft. It is an egalitarian society where anyone can sun, swim, and picnic at the land’s most beautiful beaches. They are not exclusive to the wealthy and elite. People are equal as a matter of actual practice. Those things are worth fighting for and preserving.

Finally, Australians need to revisit their passion for building actual stuff and to get the world talking about Australia again in a good way.

Craig Nelson introduces his book Rocketmen, with the story of a 1969 United States Senate briefing (shortly after Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon) where Fermilab physicist Robert Wilson is asked how a $250 million atom smasher he proposes be built will contribute to the security of the United States. Wilson responded by saying that it will contribute nothing, but that the American people’s capacity to undertake endeavours like those is what makes the United States of America worth defending.

It’s time for Australia to build something great again to be great again. A society and its culture becomes something worth fighting for when its people are inspired to achieve great things as a people.