French sociologist Émile Durkheim made the profound argument that it is a community’s shared stories that quite literally constructed society. If we all have the same story – The Exodus, Dreamtime or Easter – we have the same values, dreams and ambitions.
PICTURE: Social.Cut/Unsplash
It is our common rituals, celebrations, and ceremonies that keep those stories, and our society alive.
There are some profound implications from this idea. If we lose or forget those stories, if we stop telling and celebrating them, we collectively no longer exist. We are still around as people – but we are a different people, a different society – or perhaps just a collection of tribes.
What are the stories you want to hold onto, that make us Australians? Anzac Day, Christmas, Easter? Are you teaching them to your kids?
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au