Not everyone living in our country shares the same sense of pride for the Australian flag.
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For better or worse, not everyone is filled with the same levels of patriotism looking up at the Southern Cross, Commonwealth Star and Union Jack.
Such a comment would have drawn ire from all walks of life during different stages of our country’s history.
It’s fair to say war-time Australia saw previously unseen levels of patriotism and affiliation with the nation’s flag.
The tattered flag at the top of Griffith’s old RTA building perhaps represents our country being swept up in a trend where priorities and beliefs are fast changing, thanks to the advent of radically shifting global agendas.
Religion, national pride, and many other unwavering priorities of the past are fast being replaced by popular culture and individualism.
The only part of Australia we can judge as citizens during 2017 is how we want to celebrate our flag, and how we want to be perceived by the rest of the world.
Much of Australia’s standing in the international community comes with our general laid back nature, love for our lifestyle and refusal to take ourselves too seriously.
But there’s a difference between not taking ourselves too seriously, and leaving a bad impression on the international community.
The Commonwealth’s Australian National Flag Protocol has a long list explaining flag-flying etiquette.
It includes only flying the flag at night when it is illuminated, and never if it is damaged, faded or dilapidated.
It’s there in writing, but there are instances beyond the tattered example at the top of the RTA building, where the flag hasn’t been treated with the respect it demands.
The sight of a youth frolicking around at the SCG with a flag tied around their neck like a cape would have drawn gasps from returning soldiers during the late 1910s.
The manufacturing of our national symbol into a product of commercialisation – think towels, hats, bikinis – was certainly not what Australia’s first Prime Minister Sir Edmond Barton would have had in mind.
While plenty of residents remain unwavering in their commitment to the flag, the fast changing priorities of Australians means not everyone is outraged about the tattered Southern Cross above Griffith’s old RTA building.
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Ben Jones
Area News Leeton Irrigator Coly-Point Observer
Area News Leeton Irrigator Coly-Point Observer
