Patriotism - oh hey there.

Overseas, Australians have become known chiefly as racists in the last few years. The old defense, "I'm not racist, but..." just isn't cutting it anymore. And I mean, I know a lot of you really aren't racist, but you're xenophobic. And the only defense for xenophobia is ignorance.

And that is why I get wholly confused when people start asking everyone to "assimilate" or leave. There will always be a problem while we still use words like assimilate and tolerate, rather than integrate and accept.

It's not fair or adult to ask someone to shrug off their culture just because yours has become the norm. Sure, you might want to be able to interact with them, and you might be a bit tentative because they have customs you're not familiar with. But the problem is, the people spouting these xenophobic lines - in my experience - live in almost wholly white neighbourhoods. Who are these people they want to assimilate into their culture?

I have to presume it's a media thing. And I guess the lack of diversity in their own neighbourhood fuels their disinterest in educating themselves about these other parties.

"Boat people" are generally people whose original country is in such disarray and so dangerous that they cannot reach an Australian embassy. They aren't "jumping the cue", and we aren't taking all of them. Britain, that tiny little densely populated country that we spilled off from, takes in more asylum seekers. In Australia, it's 1 for 1583 people (population of 22 million). In Britain, it's 530 (population of 62 million). And roughly 90% of those arrive by plane.

Asylum seekers are people who are seeking shelter from their country which is often categorised by cases of torture, starvation, war and death.

Moving on from asylum seekers, which aren't actually a big deal; if you still oppose them you obviously have a false sense of entitlement, which is my next issue.

Some Australians have this crazy mix of mindless patriotism and a sense of entitlement which borders on fanaticism. They're the people saying things are "Un-Australian", saying it's the best country in the world (without having left it - I mean, surely you need to do the appropriate legwork?), and telling people to "go home" if they want to change things.

Even if it was "the best", surely we could aim to make it better. If we forget everything about culture and diversity; we still have problems with our schooling, problems with our hospitals, and currently we are in a government deficit. So obviously, we still aren't perfect.

And this entitlement. Where does it come from? You managed to be born within the Australian borders. Cool. What have you actually done to be more worthy of being Australian than someone who comes here on a plane or a boat?

Okay, I'm done.

Usurp the throne!

Oh historic day. Gillard glides into the role of Prime Minister so swiftly as to draw attention to the knife stuck between the ribs of her ailing predecessor. It's a fine line.

I think it's sad, and somewhat backward, that this is our first 'Female Prime Minister'. She clothes the ascent of a female to the democratic throne in the scent of Claudius.

The question remains: who is our Hamlet? And who exactly is our Fortinbras?

I don't need no babysitter

I, for one, am sick of my civil liberties being eaten away.

This proposed ‘child porn’ filter is a horrible idea. The deviants who are interested in such things are not stupid enough to use websites (http://) to share content. Anyone who knows anything about the internet other than just using Google knows this. So obviously, Conroy and Rudd have people telling them that it wont work. They know this filter isn’t to block child porn.

So why do they want it in place?

I’ll tell you what they’ll block initially: porn in all its forms (X-Rated porn is illegal in Australia), sites discussing euthanasia, games which are designed for those over sixteen, and other controversial material.

So you don’t like porn, you aren’t a fan of euthanasia, and you don’t play video games? That doesn’t mean the government should decide that no one should be able to access that material. And it certainly doesn’t mean they should make it illegal to view the blacklisted sites.

That’s the killer for me. It is in complete opposition of transparency. All citizens have a right to know what the fuck their government is doing with their country.

And today, I read this article. Now we are being fined for wanting privacy regarding our health. At fifteen, a minor can get their own Medicare card; which means they can see a doctor without their parents, retaining their privacy. I’m eighteen, and I don’t feel like being babied by my government.