Australia Day: the public holiday that must not be named

Glen Le Lievre

At this time of the year, when many are preparing marinades, salads and cellar selections for the annual big barbecue, pundits gather together to discuss their favourite topic – us. At the pundits picnic, experts swap statistics, trends and anecdotes to create grand narratives of a people in a moment of time and, by the by, put us all in our place.

This year we’re a little confused. It’s all in flux. It’s all, what’s that other F word? We’re not what we were, we aren’t what we will be and, if you ask a politician, they’ll just say go home, stay there and wait for the next announcement. So, let’s strip it back to basics and see if we can solve the puzzle of us with an acrostic image.

Let’s go. 

A is for All over it. But, also, All in for it. Adrenal exhaustion Added to Alarmism Accentuates the Assuetude of Ahhh F…ism. Yes, the thesaurus is getting a workout.

U stands for Us. More pertinently, Understanding Us. Who is us and do we even have the correct pronouns. Sure, we’re Australians but more than ever we’re Victorians, Tasmanians, Queenslanders etc. We’re a little less Sydney or Melbourne and more city, coast or country. We’re the vaxed and unvaxed; the city escapees and would-be escapees. How good are we? Not very at the moment.

S is for Stretched – our patience, resilience, staff, supply lines, hospitals and the elastic waistband of our pants. It could also be for Standing Strong in Spirit and Stoutheartedness (the thesaurus again) but more often Standing in queues outside testing centres.

T is for trepidation. Full of it. Sick of it too. So, let’s think of another T. Togetherness. Noice. Territorial? That too. UnTrusting, bit of a cheat but it’s true. Tippy-toeing into Twenty Twenty Two.

R is for regional. Hello again, it seemed like we didn’t see you for a century and suddenly we’re all over you. You’re cooler than we thought. Coffee is better. The pace is a relief. Those flies though, seriously.

A. Again. We might be getting Angry. Mostly at the virus but also at politicians. We’re angry about the messaging and the whiff of politics around it. Sometimes, we can be angry if the car in front is slow off the mark, or if another person rings your iso household and says, “oh, you’re home”. We’re trying to work on Appreciation for little things.

L is for lazy. More lackadaisical, really. The bar on ambition is lowered and our Leaps have all become Little steps. It could also be for Local. We’re all Locals now. For coffee, for walks, for eating out, for friendships even. The Lifestyle of the Local was forced by lockdowns but it will be an advertising slogan soon.

I is for identity. It’s blurry and we’re not even talking gender. Our own Identity is wobbly. Our national Identity is split eight ways. We’ve learned more about ourselves and not all of the discoveries were good. Like being marooned on an island with strangers – oh, hang on, we were for two years. Hello, Wilson the volleyball. I could also be for Idiotic, especially in this space. 

A. It keeps coming up. Maybe there’s a hint there. All for all. All in. All out (especially if they’re England). Altruism for All. It’s a starting point. There may be no Alternative.

So, what have we got? What can we decipher from this linguistic mash up? How about this.

All (of) Us Standing Together Really Appreciating Life In Australia. It’s twee but we don’t need to bash ourselves up this year. Have a happy and safe barbecue.

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