Change national day
The 1992 historicals item (The Standard, January 28) on changing the Australia Day date is timely. Everything about 26/1 is inappropriate. Surely Federation Day 1/1/1901 when the states were finally persuaded to surrender their independence to enable creation of one nation, Australia, is the obvious choice; Federation Day. January 26 celebrates our inhumane beginning, where the first people, convicts, were so brutally treated, many sought death even by judicial hanging and all were actually slaves. It wasn't until 1988 and I was nearly 60 that I became fully aware of aboriginal history running beside ours and realised 26/1 was obviously an invasion, to add to the date’s infamy, so I suspect it was chosen to avoid clashing with New Year’s Day, so pathetic are we at getting things morally correct.
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Shirley Duffield, Naringal East
America-first hurts
US President Donald Trump's philosophy of putting America first may seem reasonable to like-minded persons worldwide in terms of putting their particular nation first, but may contain a dangerous element for humanity. While any nation naturally looks after its interests as best as possible and will do so with respect to its relationship with other nations, the crucial aspect is the way it is done. Donald Trump's idea of putting America first appears to mean he is putting his country's interests first without really considering implications on other countries, his own country and ultimately the whole of humanity. His focus on American interests seems to ignore the wisdoms of balance, caution/sensitivity and diplomacy. It may also cause other nations to copy his style and put themselves first without diligently considering the bigger picture. Ultimately, we are part of one humanity, no matter where we live and which values we hold. It has never worked in the history of humanity when one nation tried to elbow its way and push its interests without respecting other nations. All attempts of assuming power over other nations have eventually failed, no empire has ever lasted. Any nation trying to isolate itself to varying degrees from the human family or trying to fortify itself has also never worked. We live at a time when humanity as a whole faces enormous challenges, some of them of existential nature. Now is the time to put humanity and not any one nation first. We need to think "we" rather than "I" both as individuals and communities/states/nations and as members of humanity. When persons like Donald Trump claim they are putting their nation first and are simultaneously going backwards in terms of thinking of the welfare and future of all humantiy, they may well put their nation last due to the inevitable consequences and backlashes from the sections of humanity they are trying to bully and control. President Trump's vision and implementation style of "America first" has the potential of negatively affecting all of us.
Anton Maurus, Warrnambool
Respect allies
The American President dislikes the Turnbull-Obama deal to resettle 1250 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru camps in America. The President belittles, personalises, exaggerates and bullies instead of being diplomatic and non-confrontational. Talking with Turnbull was "the worst call by far"; "(it's) the worst deal ever "; Australia wants to export the "next Boston bombers" (they weren't exported from Australia; their countries of origin and transit are not on the proscribed list). “Thousands of illegal immigrants" (Twitter, February 1). Wrong: Not "thousands" merely 1250. Not "illegal immigrants"; they're refugees as determined by the UNHCR. The President makes extreme statements based on ignorance, before committing to "study this dumb deal!" Why didn't he do that prior to talking with our PM? The US State Department talks about "respect for close ties to our Australian ally and friend" but friends don't communicate like this.
Judy Bamberger, O'Connor