Weekly Activism: A Mahayana perspective on social, civil, and environmental issues
Australia, Buddhism, and Nationalism: the Debate of Australia Day
The 26th of January was Australia Day, a holiday and festival for many who call the southern hemisphere nation their home. As the years progress, Australians have continued to debate the use of the word “patriotism” by a vocal and violent minority who made their presence known to all during the 2006 Cronulla Riots (and, arguably, in a spate of attacks on Indian students as recently as this month). Cronulla beach became notorious for a sustained and violent series of attacks and riots against Lebanese people (and anyone who did not look Australian-Caucasian). Come 2010, new concerns are being raised that the nationalist, racist subculture (which is still in the minority) is seeping into mainstream Australian consciousness.
As a religion that expressly aims to cut away false notions and delusions and gain insight and truth, Buddhism is interested in transforming ideas of nationalism, patriotism, and racism into “-isms” that can free themselves from the misconceptions of an enduring ego or soul (in this case, the collective ego or soul of the nation). This can bring people to a better understanding of how to treat those who were not born on the same soil.
Having lived and studied in Australia for the greater part of my life, I have borne witness to the great diversity of human beings that have chosen Australia as their home and future. The uncomfortable truth is that racist attitudes can and do infect mainstream culture. Australia’s history is rife with racism and racist discourse and expressions is used by entertainers and politicians, despite their denial of being racist. It has influenced schoolboys, work colleagues, and even university students I met during my undergraduate years. What distinguishes this “mainstream” racism from the more damaging kind, however, is that the former does not reflect a consistent and keen belief in racist ideals. It consists of a careless, unmindful word or an insult made in the heat of drunkenness or emotional turmoil. Mainstream “racism” is an intellectual defect caused by lack of reflection and understanding, whereas the latter is a subculture that actively and unashamedly prides itself on ignorance, fear, and bigotry.
As Marieke Hardy puts it on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Channel, “the very idea of national pride has been soiled by the t-shirt wearers who disguise hate in the name of allegiance. And I don't know if we'll ever get it back.” Earlier in her article, she makes clear her position on the matter:
Long before… the term patriot began being less a term of misty-eyed endearment and more like the sort of thing a footsoldier of White Australia might use as a pseudonym on an internet dating site. Chin-jutty bullish types everywhere justified F-ck Off We're Full t-shirts by claiming simple adoration of way of life… It's alright mate, I love my country. I'm a patriot they'd smilingly and patiently explain to anyone who dared challenge them.
Would it be acceptable to the public if these same people got about in a hat that read I HATE CHINKS or STOP THE IMMIGRATION EXPLOSION: STAB AN INDIAN TODAY? It really does start to seem increasingly possible, particularly if said clothing items were a) just a joke, b) worn on Australia Day, and/or c) proudly paraded in the name of patriotism. It's become a dirty word, the sort used to disguise a panoply of offences, including race-related violence, scare campaigns… Southern cross tattoos and We Grew Here/You Flew Here-type accessories are not merely a fashion statement, they're a way of saying f-ck you to a society where the term politically correct is constantly - and incorrectly - equated with being humourless.
From a Buddhist perspective, which seeks to benefit all sentient beings, racial violence, intimidation, and xenophobia are fundamentally incorrect. I am not so much addressing the immorality of nationalism (which has been covered by many great philosophers of different schools), but more of how it is basically incorrect as a concept. The reason for such a conclusion is that from the perspective of ultimate truth, ideas and theories (even those that have proven scientifically useful) are all insufficient for understanding the interconnectedness of reality. Theories concerning essence or identity, such as what it means to be “Australian” or “Chinese,” are particularly vulnerable to critique. Buddhist masters and philosophers have spent two millennia and five centuries criticizing the idea of an ultimate individual. Intellectually, virtually all Buddhists have accepted this position of no-self as a fundamental notion. The absence of an enduring individual should in turn demonstrate that there can be no nation with an ultimate identity or essence. Countrymen of most heritages are mongrel, their blood diluted by centuries of interbreeding, invasions, trade routes, wars, cross-cultural exchanges, and conquests. All countries are simply larger incarnations of the tribes of ancient days, which happened to gather together simply for survival. Our boundaries and borders were historically and arbitrarily determined. The formation (and dissolution) of empires lay in the hands of commoners and rulers (and nature), not in the supposed strength or weakness of a nation in the abstract sense. The very idea of “nation” is only valid when it begins with the premise that a group of people must be unified as an official entity for the sake of convenience. Therefore, to speak of Australians is to speak of human beings living in and affiliated with Australia (conventional truth). To speak of Australian identity or the Australian nation is a different matter, because it is empty of intrinsic existence.
Now if the nation is empty of inherent existence, there is little point to the idea of nationalism. There is no compelling reason to be nationalistic or patriotic. Nationalism is born of a belief in a collective ego that does not even exist except in the minds of people: the “ego,” “soul,” or “identity” of a nation. To be patriotic (in Hardy’s sense of the word) is to believe that a giant chunk of rock has an “essential essence” that will be lost if different cultures live on it. Such a definition is absurd and logically unsound in itself, and Hardy rightly laments that Australian identity is inching closer towards that definition.
Unfortunately, harmful emotional habits are rarely easy to discard or transform. Many people, Australians included, cannot always renounce national attachments, especially if the nation is taught to be an essential truth and nationalism paraded as a virtue in culture and media. The consequences of these beliefs, as Hardy expressed, are unnecessary forms of suffering because the principles that drive them are flawed to begin with. Therefore, the best way to celebrate a national day like Australia Day would be to reflect on the achievements of the people of a nation, not the nation itself. It is people who build a nation, not the reverse. It is to people whom we owe our gratitude and respect. It is to people whom we should care and provide for on holidays like Australia Day.
Therefore, it is important for national celebrations that the emphasis on identity shifts from the abstract idea of nation to the people living within its borders. With this simple adjustment in attitude, which is greatly different to Hardy’s patriotic racists, the spectrum of celebration suddenly becomes much larger and more expansive. For example, Australia Day should organize exhibits and publish stories of the Chinese miners who immigrated under extremely harsh conditions and endured their share of racist violence and discrimination. The holiday should also openly recognize the contributions made by Greeks and Italians to the economy of early Australia, rather than emphasizing Anglo-Saxon aspects only, such as the Anzac mythos. The struggles and joys of every person who has ever come to Australia will be acknowledged and remembered as part of the country’s growth. If we are able to observe the lives and achievements of any who happen to tread on a nation’s soil, there will naturally come many more a cause for festivities.
Full link to Australia Day article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/25/2800086.htm?WT.mc_id=newsmail
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