As nations we should also commit afresh to righting past wrongs. In Australia we began this recently with the first Australians - the oldest continuing culture in human history. On behalf of the Australian Parliament, this year I offered an apology to indigenous Australians for the wrongs they had suffered in the past.
Interpretation
Acknowledging and correcting historical injustices is essential for progress.
This quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing historical injustices faced by marginalized communities, specifically indigenous Australians. By committing to right past wrongs, nations can promote healing, reconciliation, and a more equitable society, acknowledging the value of diverse cultures and histories.
In practice
During a speech on Indigenous Peoples Day, I referenced this quote to highlight the importance of acknowledging past injustices.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
We are so fortunate, as Australians, to have among us the oldest continuing cultures in human history. Cultures that link our nation with deepest antiquity. We have Aboriginal rock art in the Kimberley that is as ancient as the great Palaeolithic cave paintings at Altamira and Lascaux in Europe.
There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls, Doing more murder in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell.
I suspect that one of capitalism's crucial assets derives from the fact that the imagination of economists, including its critics, lags well behind its own inventiveness, the arbitrariness of its undertaking and the ruthlessness of the way in which it proceeds.
There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.
The priest is not made. He must be born a priest; must inherit his office. I refer to the new birth-the birth of water and the Spirit. Thus all Christians must became priests, children of God and co-heirs with Christ the Most High Priest.
While we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.
It isn't the oceans which cut us off from the world - it's the American way of looking at things.
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