Editorial
One of the features of the early days of
the American colony was that of the Minutemen.
The minutemen were ordinary people with a
long arm, a rifle, above the fire place or behind the door, who, in times of an
emergency or impending danger could be ready, literally in a minute, to form a
militia to defend the colony.
In
Men and women who can be ready in a
minute….Not with rifle in hand but the implements, tools and attitude to fight
the annual summer conflagration in the Australian Bush…
As one of the Fireys said on Saturday on
Sky News when asked why he did what he did, his response in itself was rolled
gold:
Quote
“….Its the Australian thing to do I suppose” ….
A magnificent, off the cuff, but laser
accurate response “….It’s the Australian thing to do I
suppose”…
So laid back, so
laconic…So Australian.
Driving home on Friday afternoon I couldn’t
help being struck by the awesome, voluminous, billowing, dark, ominous and
menacing cloud of smoke to the north of the city….On any other occasion you
would simply observe it and simply pass it off as a gigantic, anvil shaped cumulo nimbus cloud that is pretty much standard for a
summer storm…
But of course this was different…
Some where at the base of that cloud of
smoke were Australian men and women…
Just ordinary people doing an extraordinary
job…
The whole scenario in my mind was a metaphor
for our ongoing national struggle in a land of vagaries and extremes and at the
same time what was going on at the base of that cloud of smoke, at the face of the fire, was a hot, sweaty workman
like response to those people that constantly question the qualities, ideals,
values and character of Australia and Australians….Those people that constantly
ask and critically question and try to intellectualise and intellectually
analyse, our national identity as if it were something that didn’t exist or something
to be doubted or something to be ashamed of.
Well it’s not rocket science…In fact it’s a
total no brainer.
Its about dirt…Its about work…Its about
sweat….It’s about grime….It’s about fatigue….It’s about danger….It’s about
perseverance ….Its about determination….Its about enduring…and its about mateship.
And it’s on display right now
It’s about stoicism; It’s
about an esprit de corp…. Its about volunteerism, its
about pitching in and everyone pulling together in the one direction to achieve
a common goal, its about nation building and doing what has to be done and a
recognition that we’re all in this together.
As I see it these are the undeniable
defining characteristics of an Australian identity…and the efforts and the
endeavors of the volunteer bush firefighters both on the ground and in the air
that we see on the nightly news is the embodiment of those
characteristics…
If you were to encapsulate it on a bumper
sticker it would read: “
It is these qualities, values, ideals and
traditions that have made
Qualities, values, ideals and traditions
that make
To be an Australian is a privilege at the
best of times and to know that there are men and women like the bush fire
fighters is a gift to us all…They are indeed, our true National Living
Treasures…..