I went to work early this morning so I could stop at the local coffee shop to read the paper. I found another article about a man who was deported because of mental illness, drug addiction, and associated criminal activities. Another man homeless and becoming increasingly unwell. Another decision to terminate citizenship because of issues in the "too hard basket". Interestingly, it was a decision that went against the immigration board recommendations. When will it end? We need to start dealing with the cause of societal problems, and not just simply ban problematic individuals from our country. The recent shameful events at Cronulla provide ample evidence of our need as Australians to address simmering racial tensions. I am astounded that Howard can boldly declare that we don't have racism in Australia. I did not intend this to be a political blog, but we seem to be galloping from one instance of injustice to another at the moment.
Sojourn 
Not only galloping from one injustice to another, but seriously jeopodising some basic freedoms, like having to watch our language, in case it offends, or draws unwelcome attention, or, or, or, or……
Perhaps our Prime Minister is attempting to play down the current flare-up,to calm public reactions, yet I feel that we need to look carefully at the facts of recent days, and face some truths about our national identity – not all of us are content to be here, and get on with it. There are many people who have major personal issues, wnich compel expression, either through a violent reaction, or more privately, in homes across the country.
I didn’t catch the language issues… What was that all about? I think that the issues facing Australia are more societal and cultural than personal. It is more comforting to think of them as personal, because then the solution is individualized, up to others. If the person gets their act together everything will be ok. Undoubtedly this is sometimes true, but I think that the Cronulla incident reveals the depth of societal unrest that is increasingly poised for expression, and it is fuelled by a society that doesn’t know how to be alert not alarmed. What is the difference? How do you look out for suspicious people or activities without being suspicious of all people who fit the description of the ones to be feared? No-one likes to live in fear. That is one of the reasons we have so many migrants. And that is also why incidents like Cronulla are possible. I don’t know how the government expects the average Australian to juggle fear of middle-eastern terrorists with acceptance of Australians from middle eastern countries, without actively doing something to facilitate these relationships. We are not as sophisticated a country as we like to think. Colour of skin is enough to warrant mistrust in many pockets of our society. Being alert not alarmed seems to provide perfect conditions for breeding racism. We need to be proactive, not rest on the laurels of the rose-coloured view that it is un-Australian to be racist. Sadly, even Christians do not seem to be immune…