If is foolish to pretend the debate is all over and now we must come
together and "unite behind our troops". Last week I was handing out protest
leaflets in Martin Place. The pro-war people are starting to get vocal and
confident. One man said: "get out of my way you c**t", another berated me
in my face for "supporting that f**king bastard terrorist". But for each of
those there were ten people who went out of their way to get a leaflet, or
who asked for a bunch to distribute themselves, or who thanked me for what
I was doing.
The Australian public is divided. That is a fact. At least 50,000 (not the
15,000 reported in the Herald) marched last Thursday on three hours notice.
As people left their offices and saw the march they joined its ranks. These
people are not only opposed to war, but very very angry at Howard and the
Liberal party. We can't paper over this division. We can't pretend to unite
when we are divided.
What good would putting on a false facade do for our troops? They aren't
stupid. They know that most Australians do not support their deployment.
But at the same time they know that virtually all Australians blame the
government, not them.
The government is trying to hide behind the troops. It is using the
"support the troops" line as a shield to deflect and avoid criticism and
pacify the public. It is a disgrace and an insult to the troops. It reminds
me of when Bob Carr accused you of dishonouring Bali when in fact he was
doing exactly what he accused to avoid answering a question.
Democracy in this country is under attack. Now is not the time to be quiet
and accept the situation, to meekly hang our head in collective shame. Now
is not the time to rally behind this plastic patriotism of Miranda Devine
or the Liberal party or Channel Nine.
Patriotism is not wearing a little Aussie flag on your lapel and singing
the national anthem.Patriotism is not rallying behind the government no
matter what your opinion. True patriotism is caring what happens in your
country. True patriotism is getting active to defend the basic principles
and decency of your country.
Now is the time to take a stand. Now is the time to hand out leaflets, to
make banners, to get out on the streets and be counted and make it clear
that Australia does not attack other countries. Now is the time to make it
clear to the members of the Liberal party that they are not born to rule,
that in Australia the people rule, not just one day every three years, but
all the time. Now is the time to be patriotic and defend democracy and the
decency of Australia - to stand up for our rights, for our troops, for our
reputation, and for the less fortunate of this world.
