I grew up an Irish Catholic boy well imbued by the White Australia rantings of Arthur 'Cocky' Calwell - the (then) Labour Party Leader of Australia. The white hat says it all!
His deluded views about Communism and Asian folk as its weapon of destruction spread into an Australian form of McCarthyism - 'reds under beds'.
My father too (sadly) became afflicted by these 'ratbag' teachings which were so manifest throughout the Catholic Church at the time. My father (as a convert) to 'the faith' swallowed it all - no questions asked - as did many - given that broad media communications of the day were highly limited.
This backdrop was then a ready justification for the Vietnam War scenario. The Catholic vote was at that time massive compared to what it is today. The decision to fight (often put down to American pressure) seemed a natural progression given the 'story' spawned from within society as a result of Calwell and the church.
All of this seems a vast world away from the social issues we deal with today. However allow me to dwell for a moment...to colour the hatred that was allowed to become manifest yet perhaps has now hopefully died with my late father's generation.
At my infants school our class was subjected to a Sister Vincent (a St Joseph's order nun) who on a daily basis would deliver us a Calwell-ish rant against communism and share her fear that we would soon all be overrun by the people from the North. The woman had clearly 'swallowed a pill' that her protected 'religious' life was not able to rationalise for her. Hatred can do that to people - it is counter to all our basic learnings in life.
Sister was thankfully relieved of her duties half way through that year and quietly taken away. No-one would ever know however of the damage done; the fear she had injected into the seventy odd children she 'taught'.
Me, I would myself suffer from a recurring dream of 'reds' climbing over our back fence at home for many years to come. Perhaps the bigotry she practised was taken on board by many of this group as a form of self-defence; again I will never know. I somehow suspect not however, despite what we sometimes read in our papers in relation to visiting students and Australian intolerance. Yes, there is history, but today...? Naa.
For my part, only twenty years later on , I married into a Chinese family. Perhaps I should come and chisel that into your gravestone 'Cocky' as a post script to your planned impact on the next generation.
For the Catholic Church bit, I no longer practise. As my life evolved, I looked for integrity in my roots and found too many 'contradictions' coming to the surface that I, like Sr. Vincent, couldn't swallow. Intolerance of any kind I still struggle with today. Religion - everyone is entitled to their own beliefs - how can we question that? Well, how can we? We must respect people's rights to make their own decisions.
* Frank Hardy's 'Power without glory' is an excellent text that conveys the social tensions of this 'colourful' time and the destructive scourge that comes with rising to positions of power.
* Arthur Calwell must be noted as voting against going to war but it also must be noted he was Opposition leader at the time
And justice for all...?
A wild but stumbling rush
a thirst for brother's blood
a victim falls hard before a baying crowd
A lusty blow is struck
just one with any luck
roars of faith ring out for hours
good and loud
The wild group arrived
a sword strapped by the side
the verdict a prescribed but grisly fate
A rigid but cruel
right of tribal rule
it seems justice can be swift
no need to wait
A bunker lit up bright
well into winter's night
Top brass around a massive table
Seems the generals have their say:
"Sir,there is no other way...!"
"but to hit this region hard
to keep it stable!"
The cameras whirl and play
at church that very day
it didn't really matter it wasn't Sunday
"God bless this call we've made
there'll be so many saved"...(except for thousands there trapped
along the way)
It seems the rules are clear
handed down o'er many years
for a phalanx to extol it's common call
It's well known far and wide
that with god at your side
his will is clearly done
through one and all
But is it really fair?
whose premise we compare...?
seems they'll all see fit to make a rightful plea?
Appears there's justice there for all
for help with righteous cause
as long as one goes down
on bended knee...?
from my desktop Grahame J Flynn
