I admit that I was one of many Australians who did not see why I should say sorry for something that I did not do nor have any part in. I admit that what happened in the days that led to “The Stolen Generation” is something that the Australian politicians of the day should be deeply ashamed of but it is for them to say sorry as they were the culprits not I.
Even so, it wasn’t until I sat there and listened to Brendan Nelson’s speech on the day that I can say I never really fully understood the horror of what transpired. His speech opened up my eyes to the suffering for the children and the family and I commend him for it and I can now join the nation is saying sorry to not only those of the Stolen generation, but to the Aboriginal nation as a whole. Mr Nelson, I thank you for opening my eyes and my heart.
I’m glad you changed positions on this one, my friend. As a black man in America, an older one I hate to say, I know how I’ve felt when states have apologized for bad behavior that had taken place against us in the past; heck, part of it through my early years.
As we move further and further away from such things, people tend to think that it was in the past, so what does it matter? It matters first because there are still residual effects from the past, even if many don’t know about it. It matters second because we all need to learn from those mistakes so we don’t make them again. And it matters third because it’s the right thing to do.
And I thought about this more a few months ago when I watched a TV program about people affected by the only two atomic bombs ever dropped, and how, beforehand, the documentarians went around asking young people in Japan if they knew where the only two atomic bombs were dropped. Not only did they not know the names of the cities, they didn’t even know they’d been dropped in Japan. Stunning!
Yep, I admit that even I have made mistakes but unfortunately unless you can walk in someone else’s shoes you just don’t know what they are going through. Nelson’s speech opened my eyes. Thanks for your comment Mitch.