If you're going to say 'No'....

To those who are eager to say ‘No’ at this moment in our history, would you kindly and emphatically direct your No to misinformation, fear-mongering and wilful ignorance? 

You are better than this.

I have to believe we can be better than this. 

If the result of this referendum is a denial of the generous and gracious invitation of our First Peoples, it will be through a ‘victory’ of confusion, deception and fear — that ancient chameleon with his ever-changing skin.
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It is distressing to think that though all the necessary information is available — and every ‘concern’ has been answered with reason — the human heart can contort itself into such small shapes, press hands over its ears and yell like a toddler, when it has closed the door to imagination and possibility.  

Every time I read through the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart I am washed with emotion at its expansive graciousness, its humble offering and its vision for a future that takes our past seriously, while charting a meaningful path forward.

No ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote will change the fact that we live on the continent that holds the legacy of the oldest surviving cultures on the earth. Our First Peoples have always had a voice; even if many of us have rarely, if ever, listened. The day after the referendum, this will remain unchanged.

However, embedding the Voice into our Parliamentary process and safeguarding it from the whims of an ever-shifting political landscape seems so obviously worthwhile to me I'm honestly shocked the Great Dividing Rager (AKA Dutton) has convinced anyone it's 'divisive'. I am more convinced by those who say it is 'not enough' than those who think it will somehow lead to a 'hostile take-over' (from 3% of our population) or a broken Parliament (at least more so, than it currently may be). 

Whether or not it is ‘enough’, it is a meaningful step forward that says 'we're listening and we trust you' to the more than 80% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who support the Voice, contrasted with an alternative that only walks us backwards, saying: 'we're not listening and we don't trust you'.

Without question, the result of this referendum will paint a clear picture of the moral character and maturity of Australia. I hope we are pleasantly surprised to find our baby nation is growing up, putting toddler tantrums behind, and learning from the ancient wisdom of Custodians who have walked these lands long enough to know the arrogance of political opportunists will be forgotten soon enough. But, as my Gomeroi friend Rob Waters tells me, 'We don't inherit the earth from our Grandparents; we borrow it from our Grandkids'. And I want my Grandkids to tell a better story than the one we have today. 

So please, for goodness sake, say ‘No’ to deception, ignorance and fear. 

Say ‘Yes’ to the gracious invitation offered in the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart. 

Want a rad shirt like mine? Check out 'Clothing the Gaps'

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOME LISTENING, HERE ARE A COUPLE OF CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD RECENTLY THAT ARE WORTH YOUR TIME:

Safina Stewart and Bianca Manning (Common Grace): Season of Creation & The Voice

Larissa Minniecon on The Voice