The guardians of our national identity were inflamed this week when the principal of Cranbourne Carlisle Primary School in outer Melbourne gave permission to a group of Shiite Muslim students to excuse themselves from the singing of the national anthem at school assembly. The students wished to skip the singing due to their observance of Muharram, a traditional month of mourning during which followers of the faith are expected to avoid participation in “joyful events”, which includes singing.
It is not even remotely surprising that this infuriated many people. Some Cranbourne Carlisle parents exploded in rage, and let the papers and talkback radio know of their ire. Senator Jacquie Lambie, seeing a chance to remind us all that she’s still around, described the situation as “disgusting”, while patriotic media commentators leapt to condemn the dread spectre of political correctness haunting our primary schools. The arguments were well summarised in a piece in The Age by traditionalist education advocate-for-hire Kevin Donnelly. In an article that studiously ticked off each of the usual right wing pressure points – Judeo-Christian heritage, Islamic State, cultural relativism – Donnelly fumed, “All those who live in Australia…should accept that Australian society is unique and that the types of freedoms and basic rights we often take for granted must be celebrated and upheld.” Though not, apparently, the freedom to not celebrate things when you don’t want to.
Donnelly argues that we are fortunate, here in Australia, to enjoy a degree of freedom unknown in many other parts of the world, and that we should recognise the value of the culture that allows that.
And you know what? He’s right. The “concepts such as sanctity of life, freedom of expression, and the right to go about one’s business free of coercion or fear of violence” that he refers to are wonderful things that we should celebrate.
For example, let’s celebrate the marvellous concept of freedom of religion. That’s that beautiful principle that says everyone in our society can practise whatever religion they choose, or no religion at all. It’s the concept that allows a godless reprobate like me to live my life without fear of being forced into obedience to any of the religious institutions that, frankly, I find pretty silly. It’s the concept that allows Kevin Donnelly to practise his Christian faith without being persecuted by those of other faiths, or by aforementioned godless reprobates. And believe it or not, it is the concept that allows the kids at Cranbourne Carlisle to tell their school that they’d rather not sing the national anthem at this time that is important to them, even if the rest of us see no need for such traditions.
It means we can all do whatever we like with respect to the gods we may or may not believe in, as long as we don’t hurt anyone else while doing it. And let’s be honest: not singing a song at school is about as prime an example of “not hurting anyone else” as you’re likely to get. It’s safe to say anyone who claims they were hurt by the non-singers is either lying or needs to knock back a nice cold can of harden-up.
Religious freedom is indeed one of the greatest things about our country. As Donnelly says, it’s something we should all be grateful for. It’s important. In fact, I’ll stick my neck out and say that, as Australian values go, it’s a hell of a lot more important than forcing kids to sing an anthem against their will, which to my mind isn’t much of a value anyway.
So in the name of Australia, a round of applause for the children of Cranbourne Carlisle Primary School, and Principal Cheryl Irving. In this demonstration of one of our country’s most cherished values, they’ve celebrated Australian culture in a way that a routine anthem rendition never could.
