Descent into chaos
December 11, 2005I’m not too sure what to say about these riots in Sydney, other than to say that this was inevitable. It’s unbelievable to look at how much worse things have become since the 2000 Olympic games. Back then, we were showing the world what a diverse culture we actually have - and how easily we were able to accept other cultures within our own without sacrificing our own values or way of life.
And now look at us.
About seven years ago, I was offered a job in Sydney - so I travelled there to attend the interview. Quite frankly, I didn’t enjoy my stay there at all. The streets were too narrow, the buildings were too tall. It was too much culture shock to take in at one time. In a previous posting, I remarked on how isolated Melburnians were from one another - the same is true in Sydney as well, as these riots prove so graphically.
How did we get to this point? Race riots? Here? In Australia? If anybody thought that voting for a particular political party meant a safer Australia, they were sorely mistaken. The truth is, a safer better Australia starts with the actions of every single Australian. There was an old Buddhist saying that I will always remember - “Change yourself, then change your family, your family changes the village, your village changes the country, and your country changes the world” (sic).
Perhaps its time we all started heeding this philosophy.
