For this week we have had a guy named John and his aboriginal wife Theresa staying with us. Theresa is lovely. She is open with her story and likes dancing. John has some interesting ideas but very challenging. I have felt rather stretched for the week really. I feel like I have chosen to concentrate my life for this point in time on the homelessness issue, and I was happy with that, but John has been pushing us to think about what we can do around liberating aboriginal people and giving back to them their rightful claims on this land we are living. John has this sense that the one true cause that we should be fighting for is around aboriginal stuff. I am too easily influenced I think. Now I feel bad because I am not really doing anything in this area. The problem is that change in any area takes time and dedication and it comes through relationships and often the change that happens for people isn’t the change they initially planned for and it is possible even with the right intentions to get in the way. The moral of the story is people have to give their life and their intelligence to causes if they really want to make a difference and I am not sure if I want to give my life to this cause and now I feel guilty about not wanting to do that. Despite that rant we have been very blessed by our visitors.
{November 29, 2008} There is too much to do
Whilst I personally feel reconcilation with aboriginal people is among the most important issues facing Australia, I do not ever believe in “the one true cause” stuff. All humans are important and there is much suffering in this world from a range of different sources. I don’t think you should be feeling guilty at all. Choosing to concentrate your life on homelessness at this point in time seems really right so I think you are where you should be at the moment. Who knows what the future holds but maybe one day you can come up here and build some relationships with aboriginal people.I think it’s good to listen to people like John- there need to be people like him – and to sit with what he says but this does not mean you should feel bad about where you are now.
Ditto to mum
The problem when we focus on one cause is that we close perspective and while doing right things for right reasons can end up discriminating or feeding possible tensions in class or race relations etc.
While we do need people to focus and work in the areas he mentioned we do not want to feed resentments that already exist in sections of the lower class white population and stand in the way of true reconciliation.
Only a wider vision and focus carries through for the good of all people not just a set of cultural groups to the possible exclusion of others that don’t get attention or special provision.
Yeah it was good to listen I just wish …… that things were different for us and aboriginal people. I wish history didn’t create this mess for us. Trust you Mum to write something encouraging me in the Alice Springs direction. Maybe if I get over my Israel fascination.