And wealth for toil...

Australia Day traditions:
- BBQ and beer
- Triple J's Hottest 100
- Whinging like a bitch about how crap Australia is/yelling like crazy about how awesome Australia is

I'm down with two of those three. And even though my comments on Triple J in the past have been less than complimentary, I'm happy to jump on the bandwagon on their best day of the year. Also, BBQs are awesome.

No, I'm not down with the excessive grumbling/yelling about Australia. I think it's stupid. I want a more tempered approach. Australia is awesome, and we should celebrate that fact. BUT we should celebrate WHY it's awesome, not just... that it's awesome. Which is I think what a lot of people do. Worse than that? The sniping from random drongos each year that says Australia has nothing to be proud of. That we're a country of racists and idiots who did bad things in the past we should all be ashamed of.

GTFO. Yes, that's an acronym, and no, it's not 'Get The Foot Out'. What other country spends the leadup to its national day dredging up old wrongs?? Does Independence Day in America mean "Oh no, isn't it terrible how a bunch of Indians died"? Does Bastille Day in France mean "Zoot alors! Zis eez terrible zat all zee people died in zee Fronch Revolution!"?

Who knows, maybe it does.

But I have a plan - a cunning one, you might say. A plan to make Australia Day actually good and shizz.

Here goes:

We are still a relatively young country. We gained independence in 1901. Our national anthem is all about how great it is that we live in a new country, with lots of potential, and the chance to make something of yourself if you have a go. Very Australian, I'm sure you'd agree.

The Australia Day I would like to see is one where we look to the future, not the past. We look at the potential we have, and the opportunities available to us.

I'd like to make Australia Day a day of setting vision. Where our leaders at all levels reveal plans and ideas they'd like the country to work towards. They might be concrete. They might be concepts. Whatever they are, they are positive visions for our country.

That's what I'd like to see. Rather than the shemozzle we currently have (I'm bagging something out! See how Australian I am!).