It's Harmony Day in Australia, and it shouldn't be

OPINION: "All the day means is parents freak out the night before trying to find an orange top for the kids to wear to school the next day. That's it."

I must have been the one of the few Aussie parents not freaking out about an orange t-shirt last night.

Today is Harmony Day, and that means most kids are expected to go to school wearing orange of some sort.

That is really all Harmony Day means; even to the kids.

My son is 16 and is thankfully too cool to obey sartorial directions. 

"It's so lame, mum," he told me last night when I was trying to find him something orange. (I only found the free Fanta shorts I got from a PR last year.)

"No one cares about Harmony Day."

I texted him this morning to ask if he got into trouble for attending in uniform, not orange. His curt response:

"We're not even doing it today. Harmony Day is in week 11."

That's how much the day means: his school isn't even celebrating on the day with the rest of Australia.

I rest my case. (Kidding. There's more to this opinion, so read on.)

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So what exactly is Harmony Day?

Well, this is the party line from the government:

"The Department of Home Affairs leads national celebrations for Harmony Week to recognise diversity and inclusion... [Harmony Day is] 21 March, which is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

"It is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism... inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background."

As the daughter of migrants who faced so much prejudice in the 70s and 80s, I love that concept. But it doesn't need to be a day. 

In particular, our kids shouldn't have to source appropriate orange clothing (um, hello, cost-of-living), which is meant to represent inclusion, for a day that's about being respectful to each other.

The conversations they will have at school today shouldn't happen just because of some random date.

Does this mean that tomorrow, when they kids are not forced to wear orange, they go back to noticing, and crapping on, each other's diverse backgrounds and differences?

Image: iStock

RELATED: Mum outraged to see kids wearing Pauline Hanson t-shirts on Harmony Day

Walk the talk every day

I would much rather schools walk the talk, every single day. That's not about being "woke" as many complain; we're meant to be a civilised society and being respectful and inclusive of the whole community is a basic tenet of that.

We should be practising this every day; do we really need a reminder on March 21st each year of the expected standard of behaviour?

If you think about it, it's tokenistic. Perhaps even patronising, as if we don't already know - because we do. The day's maybe even triggering to the "woke police" - thus being counterproductive.

Instead, parents, schools, each message in society, should be all about tolerance, inclusion, and respect. Or, in other words, not being dicks to each other.

It shouldn't be hard to do that every single day. Our behaviour should be the gold bloody standard that shows the world why Australia is one of the most successful multicultural societies.

Following the Harmony Day concepts every day is what should make us proud to be Australians.

Ps: While I'm at it about respect and inclusion... let's #changethedate.

Originally published as It's Harmony Day in Australia, and it shouldn't be