Old School Conservatives v. Bush Conservatives

Well picked out slkshock. It's a question of degrees I think. I'm certainly not going to tell anyone that Australia was/is a tolerant and fair society. I think - like many others - it waxes and wanes. Right now it's not as tolerant and fair as I remember it and I'm not putting on rose-coloured glasses that make the past look wonderful. In 1901 when the colonies and province federated we took citizenship rights away from Aboriginal people - and it wasn't an oversight. That's not tolerant and it's definitely not fair. In 1967 it was decided that Aboriginal people would resume citizenship. That was a move back to fairness.

Now we have a government that is targeting Muslims - they can put all the spin on it that they wish, but they're targeting Muslims because of the terrorism scare. I'm not arguing whether the dreadfully repressive legislation that is in the works is necessary (that is a different question) but it's evidence of a retreat from tolerance and fairness. So we're waning on that one.

Now, thinking again. I want my society to be tolerant, fair and continue to be secular. I don't want to live in anyone's theocracy - of whatever religion.

ci yes we have plenty of racial bigots, in fact any one of us I think can be racially bigoted given the right circumstances. Generally speaking Australians are quite xenophobic.

Goodfielder,

Good post and I agree with you. In fact, I think you could take your post, change the word "Aborigines" to "American Indians" or "women" or "African Americans" and have a pretty good description of American history.

And I like that you do not take a position on the necessity (or lack thereof) of the current "repressive legislation" against Muslims. For better or worse, folks in democratic societies tend to overreact to the extreme when traumitized (e.g. 9-11, Pearl Harbor, Bali) or when their personal morals are threatened (e.g. Right to Privacy vs. Right to Life). This tendency to overreact is not always bad for certain times and situations. I, for one, take comfort in the fact that, over time, democratic societies seem to heal themselves quite nicely (or at least eventually settle on a happy medium that everyone can tolerate).