26 May “National Sorry Day”
26.05.09
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That’s today, in Australia. It’s meant as a sort of continuing apology to Aboriginal peoples in Australia specifically for the practice, lasting up until about 1970, of taking Aboriginal children from their families (known as the “stolen Generations”), but also for the general mistreatment. It’s not a holiday but appears to be an official commemoration.
My question: could Americans come around to instituting something similar for all of our national transgressions? My guess is that we’re not there yet. But it’s an intriguing idea, and you might get some genuinely-felt buy-in (this said the day after Memorial Day, which many take seriously but perhaps others not so solemnly any more).
Interesting site, but much advertisments on him. Shall read as subscription, rss.
Maybe you should wonder more whether Australians will one day get around to the level of indigenous well-being that America has achieved.
Even now the current Labor (left, or for non-Australians, centre-right) government has just reversed course and followed the previous Liberal (right, or for non-Australians, moderate right) government in Aboriginal affairs.
The course so followed? Accepting fundamentally broken down communities resulting from excessively indulgent and ‘hands-off paternalistic lefty’ (ie: we will protect you from ‘our’ world given the inherent superiority of your natural civilisation) policies and essentially taking over day-to-day governance. Civil liberties, perhaps rightly, are largely scrapped in the hope of saving a civilisation to enjoy the liberties.