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Tim O'Brien

12/10/2023

0 Comments

 
​Of course, we are not responsible for what has occurred before us, nor for the actions, inactions or injustices of the past. But we are responsible for what follows ‘after’, for what happens now. ​
This referendum gives us an opportunity to say through our vote something about this past, to put a line here, now, and to seek a just pathway forward with our indigenous brothers and sisters.  
 
With this referendum, we are given an opportunity to spend just a moment gazing out through the eyes of those who lost so much and have endured so much for so long. And still endure.
 
And if you’re thinking of voting “No!”, consider for a moment who you’re sharing the bed with on that position. It may also do to remember the golden rule for a happy life: “Be kind.”
 
To me, voting ‘yes’ is the decent thing to do. Because a strong, just, confident Australia will not allow itself to be defined or diminished by suspicion, by mean spiritedness, by a refusal to acknowledge the truth of its history, and not by its racist past but by how good it is.
 
Vote “Yes!”, it’s a small first step. And something we can be proud of.  
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