What a silly issue to raise now? This is what small-minded Australians do when they get a title. They invest in small-minded issues which will be their legacy. "Yeh...see that flag! We did that! We are great Australians!".
I would have thought people were more interested in changing our hopeless system of government which cannot even settle such an inconsequential issue as changing a flag. How many decades has it been? How many millions wasted? Why don't we just let Oprah decide?
The problem with flags is that they are empty symbols. Do we need a new flag. Most certainly for the following reasons:
1. We are not terribly British any more, but we are significantly so that that is not even a very compelling issue. Do we like being British? Well, I don't much like their values, but then most of you love mateship, democracy and other things you don't understand or define.
2. It doesn't distinctly define our values...but then any abstract value is hard to depict on a simple flag. Which flag does?
3. Identify a nation - most certainly this is the most important - people ought to think of Australia when they see it. The number one candidate would have to be some depiction of the kangaroo because it is uniquely Australia. Everyone knows that kangaroos come from Australia...even some Ethiopian who will never come here.
When I am in a bar in Japan, and I tell them I'm Australian...they go "Australia..hehe..kangaroo, koala". Then I say "Stuff it up your XXXX and give me another beer".
That's right the rest of the world knows nothing either....so but at least they will know you're Australia....for all the good it will do you...you will still pay Y600 for a beer!
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
