{"id":67095,"date":"2021-09-10T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T00:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=67095"},"modified":"2021-09-17T05:04:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T19:04:33","slug":"shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Much is being said about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the measures used to deal with it, and how Australians are coping as a result.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unsurprising that levels of alarm and disillusionment have risen in our communities, particularly among the young, as we see our society increasingly divided. While our state, territory and national leaders demonstrated a unity of purpose in the early stages of the pandemic, that has now given way to a growing sense that threats lie both within and beyond our borders.<\/p>\n

Continuing down a path paved by divisive rhetoric and distrust in our leaders will damage our country, leaving an increasingly difficult situation for future generations to manage.<\/p>\n

A clear political self-interest has created an unhealthy \u2018us versus them\u2019 mentality. The \u2018them\u2019 could be our neighbours, the travellers with the different number plates, or the unknown masses beyond our nation\u2019s border. We are characterising them, making assumptions and asking, \u2018Why are they here?\u2019 and \u2018What if they\u2019ve got Covid?\u2019<\/p>\n

This attitude flows from rhetoric played out daily on social and mainstream media and in our communities, some of it coming from our elected leaders<\/a>. Australians, especially young Australians, are tired of watching the constant blame-shifting across the country, which minimises and draws attention away from discussion of critical policy solutions. They want our leaders to develop the policy solutions necessary to appropriately deal with these crises, in the short and the long term.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s concern that this divisive approach could have lasting negative impacts on our society. It may well contribute to a growth in extremism and the foundation of hate groups. At the very least, it will drive rising distrust in the people and institutions that are there to guide and support our communities, and distrust in democratic institutions and processes.<\/p>\n

Our democratic society is built on the common-law notion<\/a> that citizens are to be allegiant to their nation and in return the nation protects those individuals. Now we\u2019re seeing our nation\u2019s leaders, burdened by the many ongoing and simultaneous crises, struggling to ensure that Australians as a whole feel protected. The reactions of some individuals to lockdowns reflect this distrust. Some, fearful<\/a> of public health restrictions and the economic impacts on their families, aren\u2019t following government advice and that is contributing to the crisis.<\/p>\n

Perspective plays an important role in our lives, influencing our attitudes and beliefs. It is often shaped by our close community, by social media and by what we see on the news.<\/p>\n

For instance, you could look at the Olympics and see the inherent nationalism that pits country against country. Or, you could look at it differently and see what many athletes have demonstrated this year<\/a>\u2014compassion and kindness.<\/p>\n

People of all nations are crying out for inclusivity and equality. This is the kind of leadership we need to be seeing from our governments. Although we can give in to our own insecurities, perpetuating the us-versus-them mentality, we crave the good-news story of people looking out for each other, now more than ever.<\/p>\n

To ensure that our country doesn\u2019t go down a very dark and harmful path, we need clear leadership and clear communication. This means we need people across the state, territory and national political divides to work together.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already seen the benefits of state and territory governments using existing mechanisms<\/a> to work with community leaders in ensuring the needs of minority groups are met during a crisis. Clearly communicating policy, be it through mainstream media conferences, social media posts or information provided in multiple languages, will ensure that every individual has access to the advice our leaders and their experts are providing us.<\/p>\n

We also need enduring policies that consider varying perspectives, potential obstacles and the imperative to adjust them as necessary to changing conditions. Australia\u2019s latest wave of Covid-19 demonstrates that we need policies providing both short- and long-term solutions.<\/p>\n

While policies focused on the immediate issues are important to address the critical challenges facing communities and individuals, we cannot rely on band-aid solutions to provide enduring assistance in these unpredictable times. Our policymakers will need room to consider the longer-term impacts of these crises on our community and strategic direction, and to anticipate potential obstacles.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s future will undoubtedly be damaged by continually divisive rhetoric and behaviour. Young Australians are looking to our leaders to provide an example, to demonstrate that while they will make mistakes because they\u2019re human, they are capable and can be trusted.<\/p>\n

If our leaders can demonstrate that they are working with and listening to our communities and that they are formulating and implementing enduring policy solutions, and if they can communicate those ideas clearly, our country will be well positioned to turn away from the harmful mentality of \u2018us versus them\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much is being said about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the measures used to deal with it, and how Australians are coping as a result. It\u2019s unsurprising that levels of alarm and disillusionment have …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1067,"featured_media":67097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[416,1163,2658,730],"class_list":["post-67095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australian-government","tag-borders","tag-coronavirus","tag-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Much is being said about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the measures used to deal with it, and how Australians are coping as a result. It\u2019s unsurprising that levels of alarm and disillusionment have ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-10T00:00:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-16T19:04:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1210114460-e1631232014264.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julia Butler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julia Butler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1210114460-e1631232014264.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1210114460-e1631232014264.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"A COVID-19 signage is seen at a vehicle checkpoint on the Pacific Highway on the Queensland - New South Wales border in Brisbane on April 15, 2020. - A state border that bisects Australia's neighbouring beachside towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads has rarely troubled locals, long accustomed to crossing the invisible line daily for coffee or a surf. But as Australia began shutting down last month in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Queensland closed its border to slow the virus spread from worst-hit New South Wales (NSW) state -- for the first time since the Spanish Flu pandemic a century ago. (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON \/ AFP) (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON\/AFP \/AFP via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/\",\"name\":\"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-10T00:00:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-16T19:04:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/e81d1df615ea6a610735a090d42d3ae3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/e81d1df615ea6a610735a090d42d3ae3\",\"name\":\"Julia Butler\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee1df69808ece84ee025ed4e3dacf087?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee1df69808ece84ee025ed4e3dacf087?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Julia Butler\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/julia-butler\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts | The Strategist","og_description":"Much is being said about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the measures used to deal with it, and how Australians are coping as a result. It\u2019s unsurprising that levels of alarm and disillusionment have ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2021-09-10T00:00:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-16T19:04:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1210114460-e1631232014264.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Julia Butler","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Julia Butler","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1210114460-e1631232014264.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1210114460-e1631232014264.jpg","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"A COVID-19 signage is seen at a vehicle checkpoint on the Pacific Highway on the Queensland - New South Wales border in Brisbane on April 15, 2020. - A state border that bisects Australia's neighbouring beachside towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads has rarely troubled locals, long accustomed to crossing the invisible line daily for coffee or a surf. But as Australia began shutting down last month in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Queensland closed its border to slow the virus spread from worst-hit New South Wales (NSW) state -- for the first time since the Spanish Flu pandemic a century ago. (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON \/ AFP) (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON\/AFP \/AFP via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/","name":"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-09-10T00:00:39+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-16T19:04:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/e81d1df615ea6a610735a090d42d3ae3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/shut-the-border-increasing-divisions-could-have-lasting-impacts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shut the border! Increasing divisions could have lasting impacts"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/e81d1df615ea6a610735a090d42d3ae3","name":"Julia Butler","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee1df69808ece84ee025ed4e3dacf087?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee1df69808ece84ee025ed4e3dacf087?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Julia Butler"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/julia-butler\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67095"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1067"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67095"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67284,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67095\/revisions\/67284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}