Aboriginal Reconciliation.

Were there to be reconciliation in Australia between the white Europeans and the Aboriginal people, not only would some of the wealth and ease of Australian white culture need to be transferred to the Aboriginal people, but some of our European cultural conventions, which cause Aboriginal people (and many white people) to feel alienated and alone, would need to be reconsidered.

Such things as: profit motive, consumerism, materialism, pragmatism, cynicism, work ethic, and the nuclear family.

These things cause our society to be harsh, especially to outsiders - immigrants, Aboriginal people, and minorities.  Our society is cold, hard, tough, and exclusive.

Reconsideration of these ideas can be brought about by listening.
Listening to the stories of Aboriginal people.
Hearing their cries for help.
Seeing their tears.

We must begin to see value in Aboriginal people.

Perhaps their wealth lies in their spirituality (something which is not highly valued in Australian or any western culture).

Hearing their cries of disconnection from the land is a beginning.

This would not only benefit Aboriginal people but white people as well.

When do our bare feet touch the earth?

When do we hear the silence of the bush?

We are surrounded by things of our own making:
radios, T.V.s, C.D. players, movies.....
There is constant chatter to distract us.

We are afraid of silence.
It makes us feel alone.

We are afraid of nature.
We try to tame it and control it.

Aboriginal people commune with nature.
This is the dreaming.
Nature is not their enemy but their mother.

This is the connection to the land which has been severed by white colonialists.

Perhaps a return to mother nature may help with the process of reconciliation.

White men and women live in an alien landscape.
Their cities and towns resemble Europe.
Europe is their home not Australia.

So while we live our lives in our little boxes with our manicured gardens of European flowers and trees we cannot be truly Australian.

We must place our bare feet on the red Australian earth to become truly Australian.