Australia Day, maybe one year...

Maybe one year we will ask the hard questions in time and in ways to make a change
We will choose to celebrate on a day our indigenous brothers and sisters could fully embrace
We will do this because it's important to us, more important than other reasoning

Maybe one year we will stop demonising already traumatised asylum seekers
We will recall the welcome of the 1970s and move beyond slogans of fear
We will identify with those who travel across the sea and we will have boundless plains to share

Maybe one year the social justice and wellbeing indexes will be reported on the news
We will stop adding historically simplistic descriptors to our fallen idols
We will have news, genuinely presented differently without hyperbole or sensation

Maybe one year more people will be served in mission than attend church on a Sunday
We will host meals, provide counsel, offer non judgment and discover more of God's identity
There will be a link between hurts, hopes and mission that's overt and recognised as 'good news'

Maybe one year the Fred Hollows Foundation will have all the money they need
We will restore our overseas aid budget and fund UNHCR processing in Asia
We will know as much about 100 tragic deaths overseas as we do about two in Sydney

Maybe one year our symbols and celebrations will reflect and embrace our values today
We will be able to define who we are by our ethos and not just our folklore
We will recognise, celebrate, compensate and embrace our indigenous cultures

Maybe one year our government will articulate a vision for the long term
We will understand that taxes and borrowing fuel investment in the future
The 'fair go' will not be reinterpreted to punish those most in need

Maybe one year we will understand the new demands of a global world of faith and culture
No doubt we need to stay real about senseless violence and oppression
Will we seek values of peace, compassion, grace and understanding to combat fear?

Maybe one year our flag will be ours whether it goes into battle or onto our singlets
We will celebrate a diversity of sports and the arts or science as we forge a renewable future
The idea of sustainable living will lead us to harness the power of the sun

Maybe one year my words will be unnecessary in the wake of my actions
I will have participated actively in the creation of the hope I know to be real
I will stand back and reflect on a life well lived with a little room for an introverted smile

Maybe one year...