Political patriotism

As evidenced by the reactions to Martha Nussbaum’s famous essay of 1996, patriotism is a contested notion in moral debate. This paper explores the suggestion made by Stephen Nathanson that patriotism might be understood as “love of one’s country”, and suggests that this phrase is misleading. It suggests that patriotism, like love, is not rational, and it fails to distinguish two kinds of object for that love: one’s cultural community and one’s political community. Accordingly, this phrase can lead to a kind of nationalism which involves chauvinism and militarism and that is, therefore, morally objectionable. The problem arises from ambiguities in the notion of “country” which is said to be the object of such love. Moreover, “love” is not the appropriate term for a relationship whose central psychological function is that of establishing an individual’s identity as a citizen. I suggest that the proper mode of attachment involved in patriotism is identification with one’s political community, and that the proper object of a patriot’s allegiance is the political community thought of without the emotional, nationalistic and moralistic connotations that often accompany the concept of community. The “political patriotism” that arises from such an attitude is sceptical of “the national interest” and does not accept that our moral responsibilities to others stop at national borders. In this way political patriotism is consistent with a cosmopolitan stance towards human rights and global justice.

A warrior nation

Under Prime Minister John Howard, Australia today appears to have turned away from Asia, returning to a Western oriantation. Has racial invasion fear, once expressed in the 'White Australia' policy, been the determinant of relations with Asia? I argue, in contrast, first, that invasion fear preceded race fear and, second, that Australia was unlucky, in coming to nationhood during the eras of Social Darwinism and New Imperialism, scaling ideas of race citizenship into its national formation. It was unlucky to associate national 'manhood' with Gallipoli and war, making the national tradition expeditionary nationalism, or ANZAC. War is central in national memory and public patriotism, primarily because war has been carried out overseas rather than through fighting on Australian soil, and the devastation of Australian cities. Even after the retreat of Western empires in Asia, and of racial ideology, why has this romantic and foolish view of war as an expression of the nation persisted? Paradoxically, Australians romanticise war even though, after 1788, there has been no other invasion of a continent which is harder to invade than it is to defend.

Play it again, Sam : How journalists cashed in on Youtube's favourite koala

The world was captivated when footage of a badly burnt koala drinking water from a Victorian firefighter's bottle was uploaded to You Tube in February 2009. When the story of "Sam the Koala" was adopted by the mainstream media, recombinant themes were used to construct her story - from heroism and patriotism to villain vs victim and romance. While scholars have examined the changing role of the journalist in a converged world and the rise of "soft" news, this paper focuses on the way journalists create disjointed narratives around You Tube footage to extend a story s lifespan. We call these new narrative forms "fractured fairy tale news" to describe this emerging phenomenon of convergence culture. Further, we suggest that news media exploit the YouTube community for their own commercial gain and conclude that the fractured fairy tale style is a poor vehicle for the future of news.

In the tracks of Blinky Bill : How Sam the koala led news journalists into an Australian literary tradition

The world was captivated when footage of a badly burnt koala taking water from a Victorian Country Fire Authority volunteer was taken with a mobile phone and broadcast to the world on YouTube in February 2009. When the story of ‘Sam the Koala’ was subsequently adopted by traditional broadcast and print media, recombinant themes were used to construct her story – from heroism, patriotism, villain v victim - even romance was incorporated to entertain and create audience appeal. This paper explores how ‘Sam the Koala’ became a defining news story in the coverage of Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires and examines the power of narrative when cross pollination occurs between new and traditional media in the production of news. It is argued that Sam’s story is evidence of journalists adopting new approaches to storytelling in a bid to retain their legitimacy as the authoritative voice of news and information in an increasingly technologically driven society.

Not dark yet : a personal history

Spurred on by his encroaching blindness, prominent historian David Walker's Not Dark Yet is a frank, witty and innovative memoir that connects the small, seemingly inconsequential events of daily life to larger historical themes of family, war, patriotism, racial identity, religious belief, knowledge of the world and death.

Battle for the flag

Ten years after the Cronulla riots, the violence, racism and branding of young bodies with signs and symbols of Australian nationalism, along with the reprisal attacks by Lebanese-Australian youth, continues to inflame discussions about race relations in Australia, with many conversations shifting away from ideas of multiculturalism and cultural diversity, and towards patriotism, localism, security and fear of the (predominantly) Muslim 'Other'.Battle for the Flag contextualises and challenges the narrative by drawing upon participant observation and interviews conducted with local residents of diverse backgrounds. By paying attention to the voices of bystanders and those involved, the riot is identified as an unstable and fluid formation, where the Australian flag, the beach and whiteness itself was co-opted into a much more contingent, contested and subcultural formation than hitherto described.

Creating symbolic cultures of consumption: an analysis of the content of sports wagering advertisements in Australia

BACKGROUND: Since 2008, Australia has seen the rapid emergence of marketing for online and mobile sports wagering. Previous research from other areas of public health, such as tobacco and alcohol, has identified the range of appeal strategies these industries used to align their products with culturally valued symbols. However, there is very limited research that has investigated the tactics the sports wagering industry uses within marketing to influence the consumption of its products and services.

METHOD: This study consisted of a mixed method interpretive content analysis of 85 sports wagering advertisements from 11 Australian and multinational wagering companies. Advertisements were identified via internet searches and industry websites. A coding framework was applied to investigate the extent and nature of symbolic appeal strategies within advertisements.

RESULTS: Ten major appeal strategies emerged from this analysis. These included sports fan rituals and behaviours; mateship; gender stereotypes; winning; social status; adventure, thrill and risk; happiness; sexualised imagery; power and control; and patriotism. Symbols relating to sports fan rituals and behaviours, and mateship, were the most common strategies used within the advertisements.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that the appeal strategies used by the sports wagering industry are similar to those strategies adopted by other unhealthy commodity industries. With respect to gambling, analysis revealed that strategies are clearly targeted to young male sports fans. Researchers and public health practitioners should seek to better understand the impact of marketing on the normalisation of sports wagering for this audience segment, and implement strategies to prevent gambling harm.