Privilege the Australian Dream…. dream the impossible dream

By Pamela Nathan

Re: ‘Racist constitution does not reflect who we are‘, by Professor Mick Dodson, published in ‘The Age’, May 27, 2015 and

‘Constitutional referendum: the indigenous recognition tightrope‘, by Chris Merritt, published in ‘The Weekend Australian’, May 30, 2015

As Professor Mick Dodson wrote in The Age, it is time for Australia to amend its racist Constitution and recognise Indigenous Australians. He says we need to delete provisions that still make racial discrimination lawful from the foundation document of the Australian nation. Section 51 of this document still allows for laws to be made with reference to particular racial groups – even detrimental laws. Section 25 allows the states to prevent people voting based solely on their race. The colonial past has a living presence of racial discrimination – a stain on what it is to be human and humane!

Mick Dodson says ever so clearly:

“Race is a construct, a code word for people’s fears about others who don’t look or sound like them. We’re members of the human race and the differences between us enrich us all. Yet, we still have a constitution that implies otherwise.”

Let us do away with the chains of  racial colonial legacies. As Martin Luther King said: “ I have a dream… that all men are created equal… I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”

Let us privilege the Australian dream and dream the impossible dream and work together in the quest to reach equality and find our humanity together in the rich pageantry of difference and move beyond the racial divide.