Letter to The Editor - Different Ways of Promoting Shared Ideals

to THE AGE
     Peter Hartcher rightly suggests (‘The dangers in playing the politics of identity’, 26/8) that a wise political party will seek to ‘lift the collective gaze to a political vision for the nation.’ What might that vision be for Australia?
     It will have to be inclusive of all major interests, so it will not accept Hartcher’s claim that ‘the Imperial British vision of Aboriginal people’ was that they were ‘non-existent.’ We know very well that the 18th and 19th century British authorities fully recognized the existence of the Aboriginals but did not adequately understand the quality of their tribal and inter-tribal lifestyle. Thus they assumed that there was no government to deal with and that they had an obligation to bring civilization to a people viewed as ‘primitive.’
     An authentic national vision will be both realistic and equitable. The Coalition and the ALP could co-operate on articulating this, with elections centering on different ways of promoting the shared ideals. We would then have a happier and calmer country.
NJ, Belgrave, Vic