Vasilios Theodorakis – An Online Author

Every generation’s accumulated wisdom has been lost in Western cultures since the 1950s. Why? Because, our over emphasis of youth culture has built into it, the notion of “re-inventing the wheel” or should we say, “re-discovering the wheel” every time there’s a coming of age. This ensures that culture regresses to an infantile and stunted state on a regular basis. By the time one generation has grasped what’s really important in life, the next generation is making all the same mistakes, and refusing to acknowledge that those older than themselves, already know what counts. There’s no passing on of insight from one generation to the next and no learning from past mistakes as we find in other cultures.

A society that doesn’t listen to the wisdom of age and instead looks to its youth for guidance is not sustainable. Its operational basis is that of experiential waste – just look at what happens when it’s taken to extremes like the killing fields in Cambodia. Unfortunately, we are at risk of never becoming a mature society, and if we continue to also taunt nature with our jibes that the planet is our offspring’s to do with as they please – our eradication by the Earth is all but guaranteed. The planet will eventually scratch us off its surface, like a dog scratches off fleas – indiscriminately.

It’s a shame that this is what we’ve become, because this wasn’t always the case in Western countries like Australia. There was a time when we did advance our culture, adding to our civility as gentlemen and ladies, and passing that onto our children – but that was prior to the baby boomers taking over the world, and setting up the current youth orientated standard for all subsequent generations to follow. One can only hope that we’ll eventually produce a generation that challenges the current status quo and begins respecting the insight of its elderly.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – May 2009

For some time now, my wife and I have been wanting to protest the immoral nature of celebrating Australia’s national day on the day that for many Indigenous Australians represents the genocide of hundreds of Aboriginal Nations across the continent.

Irrespective of what mainstream Australian’s claim the day represents – all that really matters is that far too many Indigenous Australians feel disrespected (yet again) by the celebrations that occur on this day. Aboriginal people’s feelings need to be acknowledged and a more appropriate and inclusive date identified as Australia Day.

Unfortunately, where we live there are no protests to help mark the day. We do however live close to a park that used to be a meeting ground for the Indigenous clans of Moreton Bay. It was used for gatherings for 1000’s of years and we know this (from historical records) because of the midden mounds (that were present at the location) and the fact that local Aboriginal people continued to meet there right into the twentieth century.

To highlight how much mainstream Australian’s valued this meeting place, the Queensland Government forcibly moved the last of the Indigenous people that met there (its unknown what happened to them) and the local council decided to dump its rubbish on the site for a number of decades. The tip was eventually covered up with top soil, ovals were built for sport and a park for dogs was created. Finally the name was changed from Black’s Camp to something more mainstream – Elanora Park, and the fact that the location was important for the local clans was expunged from the public record. The signage at the Park (to this day) makes no reference to its significance to the original peoples.

For two years now, my wife and I have visited the location on Australia Day to pay our respects to the original people who lived on the land that we now live on. This year I wrote the following piece for us to read each and every year until this country acknowledges and begins to respect its Aboriginal people and its Aboriginal past. Health permitting I intend to keep reading this out loud under the figs, next to the mangroves (in the park) every 26th of January, or at least until a more appropriate date for Australia Day is chosen.

“Paying Our Respects – 26th January 2009”

Today we remember our Indigenous brothers and sisters who have been murdered, beaten, raped, diseased, displaced, ignored and forgotten for 221 years.

We remember that they met here peacefully on this midden mound whose name we no longer know.

We remember that here they rested, discussed and resolved problems that the different clans of the Bay encountered for thousands of years.

We remember that we are standing on land which they believed could not be owned but only looked after by humans – i.e. entrusted in guardianship. That all people belong to the land but that the land cannot be owned by any one person.

We remember that as a many Nationed peoples, they were invaded and that the land was never lawfully settled by the non-Indigenous peoples, as no treaties were ever signed with the original inhabitants, as no attempts were made to protect the original languages and culture, and that the original people’s presence was never acknowledged in any meaningful way.

Today we remember that picking this day as the national day of the country is an insult to the surviving Indigenous Australians and disrespects the Indigenous people who died and suffered over the last 221 years. We look forward to a time when this county’s national day is inclusive of all Australians, when its flag represents all Australians and its Head Of State is answerable only to Australians.

Sadly, we had the whole park to ourselves as we read this out loud and reflected on the day.

Personally I think the date on which we become a Republic should be celebrated as Australia Day – a neutral day that includes all people. For example the 1st July – six months from 1st January (Federation Day) might be a good date. Things that also need to be looked at simultaneously include: the republic, the flag, the governor general and the date of Australia Day.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – January 2009

People often miss the point of their ‘Judaeo-Christian faith’ especially in regards to ‘selfless service’. We ignore what our belief systems tell us to do and instead do what makes us feel ‘warm and fuzzy’. In the end, free will (for better or worse) ensures we all ‘believe’ what we want to believe, even within our own religion’s framework. And even if, believing it means we’re prepared to die to prove the world is flat.

Though we all do this (to some extent), all that really counts is what we “know to be true”, i.e. that which exists beyond belief and which presents itself “after the dark night of the soul” (after your Faith has been destroyed by doubt and reconstructed using material that you “know to be true”). Let me put it another way – to quote Seth in the movie “City of Angels” – ‘some things are true whether you believe in them or not’. The problem is, we often ignore what we “know to be true”.

For example, you can construct as many layers as you want to hide the facts, but reality and existence are not changed by those layers. Just look at all the misery in people’s lives, even though they’ve constructed and surrounded themselves with layers we now know as lifestyles! One can choose to live such lifestyles, or one can choose not to live such lifestyles – its up to the individual – the principle behind it is still the same – free will. What doesn’t change however is that the “lifestyle” doesn’t alter a person’s underlying reality.

A friend of mine, recently raised the fact that she knows her ‘ego wants it (life) to be more sensational and more exotic’, so she’s making decisions accordingly. “The ego wants it (life) to be more sensational and more exotic…”? What path have we convinced ourselves to trundle down? Is she for example, about to make decisions that will lead her into “selfless service” or into “having an adventure and feeling good about herself”! What I don’t understand is this, if one REALLY wants to work with the needy, what’s wrong with helping the poorer Indigenous Communities in one’s own country. I can count on one hand the number of schools that teach children their Indigenous Language and English, their Culture and Mainstream Culture, etc. especially in countries like Australia. Few here, want to work with or even respect this country’s original people. No one wants to LEARN their language, and it continues to be an indictment on this nation as to how many Indigenous Australians are not treated as equals!

We should be ensuring that our decisions (regarding selfless service) are part of the solution, not part of the problem. I’m sick and tired of “community workers” going into other contexts across the globe (i.e. other countries), perpetuating the colonialist model of the 19 Century, setting themselves up as the experts and teaching the “locals” how good things can be. I’ve been through this again and again with misdirected social workers and I can’t stand the outcome – both the inflated egos and the downtrodden locals. If one wants to go down this path – no one can really stop them, but they shouldn’t expect others to support an action that patronises another group of people. This approach has already been perpetuated by far too many Westerners. If one ignores history, because they think its boring, one risks making the same mistakes again and again.

Copyright © Vasilios Theodorakis 2007