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Yes, Olympic opening ceremonies have become mass hype and propaganda machines in the past few Olympics and Australia's contribution yesterday was no different. ...But look behind the politically-correct symbols of aboriginal culture, multi-culturalism and "femme power" omnipresent in yesterday's greatest show on earth (it's always easier to talk than to act), and something considerably more substantial lurked. As always, the selection of the final bearer of the Olympic flame to its resting place overlooking the main stadium of any Olympic Games is a closely guarded process, and provides much speculative meat for the hungry media. ...And at this games the secrecy was especially intense. Popular favourite was home town hero swimmer Dawn Fraser, an icon of the popular Australian character - right down to the heavy Ozzie accent. Courage, a common touch, support for the underdog, and a healthy disrespect for authority - all romanticized symbols of an Australia made up of a legacy of a "dreamtime" though steeped in the real world of a rugged and unforgiving outback, rejected petty thieves from a then world power, independent and rugged free settlers, a lucky country defined by the tyranny of distance, are all present in this rugged Aussie battler from working class Balmain - a Sydney inner city suburb. As previous state Labor premier Neville Wran put it.. "...Balmain boys don't cry...". Even highly connected journos in the end didn't have a clue, or those that did kept it to themselves. Entering the final lap emerged 2 other Olympic heroes - Betty Cuthbert, wheelchair-bound with MS, pushed by another female athlete beset by health problems since her triumph - Raelene Boyle. As in relay tradition down the track the torch was handed to other female Aussie heroes emerging from the shadows - including Dawn Fraser herself. The team was the focus, not the rugged individualist - and the individuals in this final lap team, including the final torch bearer, are testament that rugged individualism is not debilitating - bit indeed essential to a healthy and winning team. And then the final surprise. Lurking under the futuristic podium housing the Olympic cauldron, a modest in nature, exceptional in achievement, and honest athlete accepted the final honor of lighting the cauldron. That athlete was well known in Australia. Gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games, silver medalist in Atlanta and two-times 400 meters world champion, Cathy Freeman is also an aboriginal, the original bumiputra race inhabitants of Australia. Cathy Freeman was also molested as a child, and at a still young age, savaged by the deaths of her sister from cerebral palsy and her father from alcoholism. Such an example of triumph over adversity is hard to find. Cathy Freeman is also a vocal critic of the Australian government's aboriginal policies, and willing to reinforce the dignity and claims of her race. She recently released a statement attacking the government's claim that "Australia's Stolen Generation" was an exaggeration. On winning in the Commonwealth Games, she chose to wrap the aboriginal flag around her as she ran her victory lap. The Aboriginal rights debate in Australia is complex and by its very nature emotional. It's nuances are rarely fully understood by Australians, and even less by foreigners, including those heads of states from overseas countries who criticise Australia to make their own political points. But on this day, Freeman was not only an Aboriginal but also a female, and also an Australian. For that is what teamwork is all about. No matter the opinion of those watching on Aboriginal rights and claims, her honesty, courage, and willingness to fight for the underdog not only on, but also off, the track are ultimate reflections of that Australian character referred to above. Who knows whether all members of the selection committee were in agreement? Who cares? Because yesterday a team made up of rugged individualists saw the results of an inspired decision. It has become fashionable and politically expedient for foreign leaders to criticise not only the Australian government and by default the Australian people, as some assume that Australia is somewhat like their own countries - where it is expected that citizens support the reigning élite no matter their own beliefs and culture. In one South East Asian country, where beliefs are expendable and flexible depending on how well they publicly reinforce the policies of the élite, Australia is portrayed as a white, Anglo-Saxon, racist and arrogant country. One recent editorial from a government owned paper painted Australia as a "small country with a small mind", and suggested that the Australian ambassador's Indian ethnicity was "mere window dressing". Transient anti-immigration political movements such as Pauline Hanson's short-lived and paradoxically named "One Australia" are touted as examples of a racist, closed society. Yet these very same people fail to give a foreign culture the same understanding that they ask to be given to themselves. Australia has a free press, Australians are free to espouse their philosophies, and to debate them without fear with others. The Australian way is not to suppress alternative views, but to bring them to the open, debate and discuss with the Rakyat. The government on the whole and regardless of mainstream political color trusts their constituency, and public opinion ultimately pressures a government which by law does not have the extent of propaganda machinery at hand to influence political support by factors other than public debate of facts. It also boasts a system for appointing Ambassadors that for sure takes into account the cultural synergies of nominees, but also their competence. Australia boast a population where 25% were born elsewhere, Sydney boasts one of the largest Asian populations by proportion outside Asia, and Melbourne hosts the world's largest Greek population outside Greece, as well as other major populations of European and Asian groups. For a country to have moved so fast and in such a short time, can only be viewed as impressive. And much of that can be pinned down to the Australian character outlined above, and a conscious decision of the Australian government more than 20 years ago to focus on multi-culturalism rather than assimilation. Of course problems remain - so far none of us can claim to live in a perfect world... Australia certainly is a young country in terms of it's emergence as a world player, though not it's history and origins which are amongst the most ancient of all civilizations and represented well by the aboriginal elder character in the Olympic opening ceremony. It is still defining it's character and unique contribution to the world and wrestling with the issue of Aboriginal rights and roles is one key issue. Again, unlike many other countries in the Asia Pacific, just because a government policy is announced does that mean that Australians agree or even forced to endorse it. And where there is not the public support on a key issue, governments can be more easily removed. In this very city 6 months ago, the largest public demonstration of all time saw thousands march over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of the Aboriginal political cause. Yes, the opening show to the Australian Olympic Games was well orchestrated to help brand a multi-cultural tolerant Australia. Despite the opium offered to the masses however, the substance was that the star of the show was a well known critic of government policy, and that by this very honour, Australians bestowed on her more power to let her own opinions known. Such an action re-inforces the character of an Australia that trusts its own people to run the country, rather than a privileged élite. Australians eventually rejected anti-immigration, anti-aboriginal, reactionary and isolationist policies of Pauline Hanson, together with the by-products of what historian Geoffrey Blainey called several decades back - the "Tyranny of Distance". Yesterday while Pauline Hansen tended her fish and chip shop back in Ipswich, an anti-establishment figure - Cathy Freeman - became the icon of a new, maturing, opening-up and free country... We ask just a moment of reflection.... What other countries have the confidence in their people to do the same?...
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© Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine 2000
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