Rebirth??

I've decided, now that I have more time on my hands, to resurrect this blog. Don't get excited - there won't be any devastating wit or fancy technology, just the occasional comment.

I can't let the momentous events of Wednesday,13th February, 2008 pass without recognition. What a glorious day, not only for the indigenous people of Australia, but also for the nation as a whole. It's been a long time since I was able to say I was proud to be Australian, but now I say it and mean it!

What a magnificent speech Rudd made - it encompassed all the feelings I think many of us had in our hearts but were unable to express, and was so clear and unaffected and sincere that I'm getting teary thinking about it.

Rudd's speech (and the mean-spirited reply by the Leader of the Opposition) can be found at the Parliament House site.

I watched the speech, then headed down to Federation Square here in Melbourne where the apology had been shown on the big screen. The atmosphere was still electric, full of emotion, a feeling not only of celebration but of relief! There were Aboriginal flags, t-shirts with the Aboriginal emblem and so many people of all cultures and walks of life (I saw a pram proudly sporting the Aboriginal emblem, holding a child as caucasian as I am) - laughing, crying, hugging. An amazing,wonderful,joyful scene.

And what does it mean to me, personally? I was unprepared for the emotion I felt - after all, I'd always hoped this would happen and believed that it should happen, so I though my reaction would have been one of relief. But it was more than that - I now understand what that little word SORRY truly means. For doing nothing, I am sorry.