Moment of silence

THE Mercury correspondence over the proposal to replace the Lord’s Prayer in State Parliament reflects what has now become known as the Restorationist impulse in conservative political thinking. People hanker after a mythical golden past and forget the reality.

It was White Christian Tasmania that developed around a convict colony for our first 50 years. For 100 years, we kept women out of political decision-making, citing St Paul’s Epistles to justify their irrelevance.

Aborigines were a dying race and generations were taught that the last Aborigine died in 1876. White Australia lasted till about 40 years ago.

Homosexuality remained illegal till about 20 years ago, again based on Biblical texts, though not the teachings of Jesus.

Nonetheless we moved on, but always there were people who remained locked in the past, refusing to accept change. All progress was resisted and to a certain extent, still is.

Predictably with the Lord’s Prayer debate,

A new way to have your say themercury.com.au readers have a new way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website. there are those now who hanker after that past and refuse to recognise the changed face of Tasmania. In time we will change, but unfortunately there will always be a conservative rearguard to delay that change, hankering after our dark past and unable to adapt to the future.

The Green alternative is a constructive way forward: a period of silence and acknowledgment of ownership of the land we all now live on.

See what I mean?

HOBART — see the sea, see the sky, see the mountain.