The possibility of real reconciliation

 I struggle sometimes about how to make this work and not be righteous, even towards myself. How to examine what my family must have participated in, in the past, and not feel full of guilt. I somehow think that shame is appropriate but guilt seems to be just self righteous and a useless emotion. But maybe I have it the wrong way around. My friend Mick Gardner's comment to the last post was really interesting. I love the idea of being Scottish, Irish, Welsh, on Wurrundjeri. Meaning I am from those ancestries but born and grew up on Wurrundjerri country. Maybe I can shorten it to Gaelic on Wurrundjerri. I think we are all yearning to resolve this and belong somewhere. My project is perhaps only a selfish desire to find belonging and not about justice at all. I hope not. But then what would justice be? The outcome I would hope for would be that ALL Australians would acknowledge and respect Indigenous people in Australia and see them as holding a primary place in the identity of the Nation. We would all know the history of the places where we live and there would be appropriate monuments to respectfully account for all those who have died in the struggle. Places where ALL Australians would gather on Australia day and mourn and heal the past. Aboriginal and T I Australians would be properly compensated with freehold land for every family and free high quality education and health care for their life including mental health support. There would be the kind of support given as there would be if white Australians were subjected to a terrible trauma where many people died and others were tortured for generations. It's not that hard to work out what is needed. Then I can see the possibility of a culture where we can bring together the best of western civilisation such as the cleverness of science and technology, and the depth of wisdom, sensitivity and creativity of Indigenous cultures. We would be a Nation to behold, representing a possibility for the world.