Australia Day – A time to weep or a time to laugh… a time to mourn or a time to dance?

As we all know… some Australians see the day as one of celebration and others see it as a day of mourning.

As most people who’ve experienced a bit of life know and understand, there is a profound natural phenomenon where mourning and celebration is experienced by everyone at different points in time and for different reasons throughout life. For example, it’s safe to presume that right now, at whatever point in time you might be reading this post, there will be some in the community experiencing intense mourning and others exuberant celebration for a variety of different reasons.

I can even throw a bible verse in to the mix, for those who are that way inclined, to reiterate the point… “There is a time for everything under the sun… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4).

As a community I personally think we’re normally quite good at holding respect for this contrast whereby, whether someone is faced with mourning or celebration, we can usually hold space for both. This is because at our essence most humans can usually muster up enough empathy to offer respect and understand towards others.

But problems arise if we try to get those mourning and those celebrating in to the same room at the same time to commemorate or celebrate the events that evoked these feelings. For example, imagine if a hall was hired out but was double booked with a funeral and a 21^st birthday party at the same time! Imagine if the solution was to hold both events in the same place and at the same time. It would never work! It would be wrong on so many levels, for a lot of different reasons.

The fact is… there is a time to celebrate and there is also a time to mourn. As a nation we need to find space for both. So back to the issue… should January 26th be a day of celebration or a day of mourning?

Current attempts at trying to mourn and celebrate on the same day at the same time is an unfair proposition for all concerned. Suggesting that the current date of Australia day is the only sacred date for booking the party hall for celebration misses the point too. Ignoring the pain this day evokes through its historical significance, is at best naïve, and at its worst, contemptuous.

So for sure, we need a time to celebrate… and we also need a time to mourn.

So let’s get that happening… a specific day of mourning and a specific day of celebration… for our nation’s sake and for everyone who is, or about to become, a citizen of this land of Oz.