Today in a speech to the Centre for Independent studies, Education Minister Alan Tudge returns to a familiar refrain — the best way to celebrate the freedoms of this great nation is to shut down certain avenues of thought about important moments in our history. Going for the culture war hat-trick, he added that all this woke black-armband hand-wringing over Anzac day would compromise national security:
We should expect our young people leaving school to have an understanding of our liberal democracy and how it is that we are one of the wealthiest, most free, most tolerant and most egalitarian countries in all of human history, which millions have immigrated to. If they don’t learn this, they won’t defend it as previous generations did.
Tudge is really demonstrating what a traditionalist he is here — we’ve despaired over the Yoof for most of recorded history, way back with Aristotle’s complaints that the young are “high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances”.
Our personal favourite comes from a letter in Town and Country magazine from 1771: “Whither are the manly vigour and athletic appearance of our forefathers flown? Can these be their legitimate heirs? Surely, no; a race of effeminate, self-admiring, emaciated fribbles can never have descended in a direct line from the heroes of Poitiers and Agincourt…”
And this should give Tudge a bit of reassurance — shortly before they shipped off to fight the Nazis, the greatest generations’ parents were being critiqued for having “frequently failed in their obvious duty to teach self-control and discipline to their own children” (from “Problems of Young People”, Leeds Mercury, 1938). Meanwhile the youth who were about to give their lives to defeat the spread of fascism were apparently apathetic and apolitical on account of all that (cinema) screen time:
Cinemas and motor cars were blamed for a flagging interest among young people in present-day politics by ex-Provost JK Rutherford… [He] said he had been told by people in different political parties that it was almost impossible to get an audience for political meetings. There were, of course, many distractions such as the cinema…
“Young People and Politics” Kirkintilloch Herald, 1938
On average, 80,000 people apply to work in the ADF annually, and about 8,000 of get accepted. This surged during 2020 — applications went up by 42% compared to the previous year, although that trend reversed this year.
We’d also argue that maybe it is the long-term culture issues in Australia’s military and the apparent failures and delays of reform attempts, the horrifying revelations of the Brereton report and the defamation case Ben Roberts-Smith brought against Nine that are having an impact on kids’ views of how sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country.
Perhaps growing up shadowed by the forever wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a cataclysmic waste of hundreds of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars, a failure based on lies and shoddy evidence that achieved precisely the opposite of its stated aims, has had a bigger impact than being told the observable and undeniable fact that Anzac Day is and always has been a contested idea?
I suppose the fact that the British drove off the original inhabitants with guns and poison… that we stole their children and then proceeded to rape the land for the benefit of the already extremely wealthy… Is this what must be taught in our schools or will it be a comforting fiction that I was taught at school back in the ’60s?
Yeah yeah… we’re neither “liberal” or a “democracy”. In a liberal country you don’t have to be wealthy to afford justice. In a liberal country the colour of your skin shouldn’t determine the level of government service and the level of negative police attention you receive. Tell Bernard Collaery and those in immigration detention for 8 years how “liberal” is our “democracy”.
In a democracy you have well-educated voters who are trained in critical thinking and the main stream media are responsible for uncovering and examining our government actions and not a propaganda ministry for the current government.
Average wealth is as meaningless as the average wage and it is related to skin colour and your ethnic origins. The most “tolerant” and “egalitarian” countries don’t lock up 10 year old children because of their skin colour and because they might steal a chocolate bar.
Egalitarian wealthy countries don’t keep a certain section of the population without jobs and in poverty a deliberate policy.
I’m sure these nongs just look out their windows at the rich suburb they live in and imagine the whole country lives as they do, and that any protest against them is undeserved.
So, teach the kids comforting fictions and don’t teach them how to reason critically… and you get Australia where Murdoch chooses the government.
CIS draw much of their education insight and recommendations from the US e.g. same issues present such ‘western values’ or ‘western civilisation’…. central seems to be allowing schools to not have to follow more modern and secular curricula, including critical thinking?
https://www.cis.org.au/research/education/
I support Tudge’s entreaty to teach school kids about our parliamentary democracy. That will enlighten them on the odious corruption of Tudge and his colleagues and will likely make the sick and determined to not allow scum like him run amok in the future.
Tudge’s view that school kids should be taught jingoistic patriotism, makes him, by his own declarations, the mist inappropriate person in Australia to be the Education minister, like Porter’s contempt for the law and parliamentary conventions, the worst AG ever. I could go on. Just get rid of these idiots!
Idiots are mainly a danger to themselves. Porter and Tudge et al are a danger to all, especially the vulnerable.
I agree with Tudge.
What we need is to go back to the type of education system that turned out “graduates” like Tudge, Porter, Dutton, Morrison, Fraudberg, Robert, Taylor, McKenzie, “Miner Matt”, Cousin Jethro, George Christensen and the ilk that is the rest of this government….. look how they all turned out.
What harm could it do?
Yes such pillars of society to whom we owe so much for the situation we are in today. You know, corruption, gross inequality, climate denialism, enviromental rape etc. etc.
Whenever I hear this sort of conservative gung ho drivel, I am reminded of the famous Oxford Union Debate of 1933.
Also when Howard (whom I suspect the ADF back then would never have accepted) back in the early stages of his PMship, waxed long and lyrical about ANZAC and Gallipoli. It was truly cringe worthy. So I wrote to the RSL HQ commenting something along the lines that 3/4 century after a small side show perhaps we should focus a little more on other events.
I suggested that each year’s ANZAC Day ceremony focus on a different campaign in which Australians fought. Sure we could always tie that back to the Spirit that was forged on the beaches and hills around ANZAC Cove but the theme being the Campaign chosen for that year. That would give Australia’s involvement over the past century or so a wider exposure to the Public, especially the young.
Interestingly I never heard back from them. Although ex PM Turnbull’s son-in-law (former Captain) Brown, was talking about the same thing a decade or so later.
Gallipoli was an invasion of a sovereign country , the inspiration of Churchill against the advice of his military & naval leaders and a failure!
Kokoda, on the other hand was a defensive series of battles fighting an invading force on Australian territory.
Just a couple of short observations:
Firstly, I think that this character Tudge would be far more use to the the country if he were to concentrate more on his ‘extra-curricular activities’; you know, the ones that were outlined in a recent 4-Corners program. Then he would have less time to cause problems in his official portfolio
Secondly, I would be strongly advising any grandson of mine to stay well and truly clear of the armed forces unless the country faced a serious and direct threat such as was the case when the Japs came ‘knocking on the door’ in WW II.
My father was an ex-naval officer in WW II and he was far more worried than I was when I had to enroll for the ‘ballot of death’ and face the prospect of becoming ‘cannon fodder’ for American Imperialist aggression in Vietnam. At that time I was keen on joining the Air Force. He was adamant that I would not enlist in the armed forces. I only with he was still here so that I could thank him.
My father ( Kokoda twice and the beach-head battles etc as an Anglican infantry chaplain) was similarly greatly disturbed to see my marble come out in the first ballot to fight in a war that he considered both illegal and stupid.
I would be pleased to know if the Minister has served his country in the armed forces at any time. If so in what capacity and for how long.
Time and again Tudge demonstrates his pig ignorance of Australian history. The man could learn a lot from Doug Newton’s “Private Ryan and the Lost Peace – A Defiant Soldier and the Struggle Against the Great War”.
Ten-watt bulbs like Tudge don’t “learn”. They go through narrow social and educational channels, which reinforce their born-to-rule, and after that they never have a single original thought. Perfect for Coalition Ministers!