Persuasive Essay On Australia Day

Australia day commemorates the anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet on the 26th of January 1788. To some, it means the beginning of the dispossession of aborigines and the lost of their culture, but to others that was the birth of a great nation. This time of the year sparks many debates on whether Australia day should be celebrated or not. Chris Berg contends that the emergence of Australia as a great and powerful nation cannot be pinpointed to a certain date, nor is the 26th of January necessarily a date to rightfully celebrate on in his article ‘there is much to celebrate on Australia day’, in which he adopts an evaluative tone. Alternatively, in her article ‘changing the date won’t fix Australia day’, Celeste Liddle argues rationally …show more content…
She tries to highlight the gravity of this situation by drawing parallels between racism and patriotism, hinting that they are linked. This positions her audience to reflect upon the fact that the nationalistic pride Australians endorse proudly is actually closely associated with bigoted views, proving that even if there was a date change, Australians still wouldn’t truly accept the indigenous culture. She further asserts that a treaty and cultural changes are needed to actually make progress. Her readers are made to feel inclined to agree, or else they will be classified as one of the extreme patriots. Furthermore, Liddle undermines the original idea for Australia day, angling at a unique perspective that Australia day ‘commemorates the some of the poorest and most desperate citizens...were dumped on the shore…’ Liddle tries to stir up embarrassment from people of British descent, implying that there’s nothing great about that event, in fact it is rather