Patriotism or Bigotry?

Comments on the following?


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Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on
Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted
radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to
Australia and her Queen at a special meeting with Prime Minister
John Howard, he and his Ministers made it clear that extremists
would face a crackdown.
Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted
that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if
they did not accept that Australia was a secular state, and its laws
were made by parliament. "If those are not your values, if you want
a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia
is not for you", he said on national television.

"I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws
governing people in Australia: one the Australian law and another
the Islamic law, that is false. If you can't agree with
parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer
Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country, which
practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better option", Costello said.

Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he
said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked to move to
the other country. Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told
reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values
should "clear off. Basically people who don't want to be
Australians, and who don't want ! to live by Australian values and
understand them, well then, they can basically clear off", he said.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by
saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques
Quote: "IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave
It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending
some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on
Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of
Australians."

"However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the
'politically correct' crowd began complaining about the possibility
that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against
immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a
better life by coming to Australia."
"However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand."
"This idea of Australia being a multicultural community has served
only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As
Australians, we have our own culture, our own society, our own
language and our own lifestyle."

"This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles,
trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought
freedom"

"We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese,
Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to
become part of our society, Learn the language!"

"Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right
wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women,
on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly
documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls
of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider
another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of
our culture."

"We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask
is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment
with us."

"If the Southern Cross offends you, or you don't like " A Fair Go",
then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this
planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change,
and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. By
all means, keep your culture, but do not force it on others.

"This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow
you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done
complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our
Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take
advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO
LEAVE'."

"If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come
here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted"

 

Fair dinkum.

 

I don't really follow the news but whenever the Australian prime minister says something, it seems very honest and open. I don't always agree with the details but it is refreshing to see a politician not *****-foot around and talk sense. I am reminded of his big brother comments!

I wish all politicians were as clear about things as John Howard!

 

mmmmm.....Sounds like a "Rivers of Blood" Speech

 

Oh dear, listen more closely then.

 

whilst it;s refreshing to se a politician speak their mind seemingly without the benefit of a spin doctor. i think the content will be used and twisted by extremeist on both 'sides' to further their own ends. also the really dangerous ones will just go further under cover - living out their lives as 'good aussies' until the day they blow themselves and whoever is unlucky enough to be near them that day into the land of 40 virgins.

 

Can we have someone say the same here please?

 

Julian, I believe the right number is 70

And as to the above text, it has at least one merit, it is not PC.

 

Patriotism or Bigotry?

A bit of both IMO.

I know a couple of Dutch friends having the same views, after the killing of the famous film director. They certainly aren't bigots, they've just had enough. But as Julian says, it'll be exploited by "both sides".

 

John Howard has to be seen in the light of the Australian political background. In some ways, he's an anachronism, harking back to the days of long-reigning (somehow it seems the only suitable word) Liberal (= UK Conservative) PM Sir Robert Menzies, who was "British to my bootstraps". Howard is a monarchist and a traditionalist, completely (and perhaps to some extent deliberately) the opposite of previous incumbent, Labor's Paul Keating (the one who could insult you for several hours without ever repeating himself). Keating was very much a multiculturalist, leaning strongly towards Asia, and a Republican (a referendum to become a Republic was narrowly defeated some years ago). Howard has also stopped any moves towards further reconciliation with the locals, who were there at least 40,000 years before him and who have gone downhill ever since the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay.

Howard reminds me of another former Liberal PM, Harold "all the way with LBJ" Holt, at the time of the Vietnam War. Staying the course, anyone?

Although the quote in GTM's post does reflect Howard's old-fashioned values, belonging to an Australia of a different era, I'm sure that there's some electioneering here. The PM's term in Oz is only three years, another election looms, and Howard will contest it, even though he has just passed retirement age. Nothing like a bit of "war on terror" and playing on people's worries to improve your vote (it also has to be remembered that the world's biggest Islamic nation is just over the northern horizon).

 

At the union of Patriotism and Bigotry some very strange bedfellows may be found.

Julian, you may well be right.

Et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno.

 

John Howard is my new Man of the Year for 2006. Big respect!

And I'm an Iranian!!

DT

 

Don't know how closely you follow the local news, but Howard makes (former PM) Frazer look like a raging lefty.

Hanging in there until Malcolm Turnbull is ready to take the helm. Costello simply wont get a look in.

Manufacturing consent? There is a school of thought that Pauline Hanson (remember her?) allowed Howard to return to his old themes of racial politics.

Stuart.

 

I wondered who would be the first to mention Pauline and her party.

 

Still peruse "The Age" website, Stuart, but that was always the case. I remember that Mal was always dead against apartheid, whereas Howard equivocated somewhat, and their positions at the time of the Zimbabwe independence were a long way apart. And their positions on the "boat people" couldn't be more different.

The Perils of Pauline, Oz's most famous fish and chip shop owner? We'd left before she made her meteoric rise (and equally meteoric disappearance), but there's no doubt that Howard moved in her direction, instead of simply restoring sanity by sawing off Queensland at the borders and floating it off into the Pacific.

 

P.S. Anyone interested in Oz will enjoy Paul Keating's wonderful collection of insults:

http://www.webcity.com.au/keating/