Youth. The innocence yet fearlessness of youth. We’ve all been there. Being completely humbled by a plain-speaking toddler, or squirming uncomfortably when a straight-shooting teenager says what everyone’s thinking. It’s often the youth that remind us of how far we’ve strayed from reality in its plainest form.
Us adults should remind ourselves of the wisdom to be found in Kindergarten Cop.
‘So, what’s so bad about Australia Day?’
Increasingly, young Aussies have been asking themselves and each other this question. They’ve been told from a young age, often by their parents, that this is a topic to tip-toe around. Just be polite.
At school, they’re met with a comprehensive list of our country’s wrongdoings.
From Prep to Grade 12, Australian students study Indigenous history and the impacts of British colonisation – almost always in a negative context.
This has been the case for decades now, as the national curriculum has become a tool for political and social activism. Teachers and principals alike will tell you just how cluttered, confusing and utterly useless our national curriculum is – and students bear the brunt of it.
They do have one advantage: kids ask questions – and don’t appreciate them not being answered.
But when they don’t get answers at school, they don’t stop asking – they turn elsewhere.
For two years I coached youth football, where I worked with over 60 young men aged from 13-15.
Three times a week, these teenage boys had a relaxed environment to come and enjoy, where they felt they could speak their minds. I can tell you now, these are intelligent and thoughtful young men that are sick of being told they should hate themselves and their country – that they should feel shame.
When it comes to Australia Day, our national celebration, they’ve cut through the doom and gloom.
With social media, they open their phones and are hit with the absolute worst of it. Horrific violence, constant wars, political chaos – a wall of negativity and turmoil.
When they lift their head and look around, they see reality. They see that we’ve got it pretty good.
The roads we drive on, the shops we go to, the food we eat, and the peace and safety we enjoy.
‘How was this all built and how have we kept it like this?’
The reality is, Australia was built on the values of toil, meritocracy, courage, and mateship. It was defended by brave men and women who fought in conflict to protect what we had made together.
Our country was built on sacrifice and selflessness, not convenience and self-obsession.
Increasingly, that exact national identity is what’s appealing to young Australians. The ideas of working hard to achieve greatness, and of standing up straight and speaking the truth.
It’s no surprise at all that a surge in support for Australia Day is being led by young people. They want to celebrate the great blessings we have here. The God-given beauty and wonder, matched with the goodness of our people.
The doctrine of wokeness is falling in on itself, and it’s with kids – who have the best BS detectors – that a form of rebellion is taking place. And of course, rebellion appeals to them.
It’s time that our education system reflects our proud national identity, not one of eternal shame and sorrow. It should reflect our enormous achievements, our great prosperity, and our even greater potential going forward. Above all, our schooling should reflect the importance of the truth and decision-making that is steeped in reality.
There is a revival of national pride in Australia, and it’s for the exact right reasons.
Despite the heckling, the future sure does look brighter with Gen Z leading the way.
Edward Schuller is the National Secretary of the TPAA and the Victoria State Director of Red Union
