Flag Waving.

[the_great_she_elephant]

Is jingoistic flag-waving a just another crass  Americanism  we have adopted, or has it always been a facet of Australian Culture?

Today I found this little gem on my FB newsfeed:

I DON'T CARE IF I DO OFFEND ANYONE BY THIS!!! I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF AUSTRALIA AND TO THE COMMONWEALTH FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION INDIVISIBLE, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL! MY GENERATION GREW UP RECITING THE AUSTRALIAN ANTHEM EVERY MORNING IN SCHOOL WITH MY HAND ON MY HEART. THEY NO LONGER DO THAT FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING SOMEONE! ... ...... LET'S SEE HOW MANY AUSSIES WILL RE-POST THIS AND NOT CARE ABOUT OFFENDING SOMEONE

Well it offended me! What a load of codswallop! Mr. Elephant, who is his 70s says he never had to recite anything with his hand on his heart when he was at school, my kids, who are in their 40s say they didn’t either and , as far as I know, neither did any of my Grandchildren. The most any of them have ever done was sing the National Anthem at assemblies and I’m pretty sure most schoolkids do the same today.

This is a stupid piece of xenophobia disguised as patriotism that obviously started in America – and even there it is a big fat lie, an overwhelming majority of American schools still go through the pledge to the flag ritual every day.

I suspect whoever it was that said “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”  must have been thinking of this type of offensive hogwash when he made that comment. 

[izabsmiling]

yes...Australians once found it OK to used to use other words/names for our Indigenous /Asian/Italian Australians too ....

we don't now ...

[k0llectable5]

Good point Iza.

Does that mean that we should also be less patriotic than we used to be because our ancestors had no "tact?"

[izabsmiling]

we have all evolved or should have by now imo.

[izabsmiling]

I am, you are, we are Australian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjkrjYitgeA

[izabsmiling]

from the OP 

MY GENERATION GREW UP RECITING THE AUSTRALIAN ANTHEM EVERY MORNING IN SCHOOL WITH MY HAND ON MY HEART. THEY NO LONGER DO THAT FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING SOMEONE .

I wonder what  his/her generation do in school these days 

[spotweldersfriend]

http://youtu.be/_f_p0CgPeyA

[lind9650]

Australia Day is accnowledgment day for many people for different reasons.

I was naturalised on Australia Day 1964, and swore my allegiance to Australia, not to the Queen of England.

Waving flags, decorating the house and porch with balloons and streamers, having a B-B-Q with mates. Having a real Aussie bash, happens one day in Septemmber.

Erica

[the_great_she_elephant]

Maybe it's my English upbringing, but I was always taught that patriotism is something private that you carry in your heart. To parade it ostentatiously in public was considered very bad form, I suppose we may have waved flags if the Queen came to visit - but if we'd seen anyone driving aorund on St George's Day or Armistice Day (the nearest things we had to a National Da)y with flags flapping from his car we'd have laughed ourselves silly.

[lind9650]

You are right She Ele.

But then again we are of a different generation. I detest americanism and playing copycat to a country that is nothing like ours.

Erica

[nevynreally]

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

Maybe it's my English upbringing, but I was always taught that patriotism is something private that you carry in your heart. To parade it ostentatiously in public was considered very bad form, I suppose we may have waved flags if the Queen came to visit - but if we'd seen anyone driving aorund on St George's Day or Armistice Day (the nearest things we had to a National Da)y with flags flapping from his car we'd have laughed ourselves silly.

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But Australians weren't brought up English.

But I think the reason for the national pride these days has a lot to do with the internet, the fact that not so many have the community, family belonging that was there in the past. Basically, it's facebook's fault.