For the religious and non-religious alike, our nation celebrates one of our best cultural traditions this week – Easter.
For Christians it is the most sacred of times and a central tenet of our faith. It is when Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary and then rose again to everlasting life. It is a tale of hope and sacrifice and love that still resonates with many in the secular world.
The Jewish religion also celebrates the festival of Passover during this time. They commemorate the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt following the last of the ten plagues sent to convince a hard-hearted Pharaoh to ‘let the people go’.
Both occasions serve to remind us that the Judeo-Christian tradition has shaped almost every aspect of our way of life. It’s for this reason that even the non-religious can reflect and appreciate the value of the message such holy days bring.
Unfortunately, it seems our cultural traditions and values are under constant threat from militant secularism that seeks to replace the tried and tested with the experimental. These radicals are aided and abetted by weak governments and timid civil institutions who seem unprepared to defend Western values, culture and ethics.
Instead, elites and radicals are trapped in a cultural relativity where the merest whiff of offence must be avoided lest they be branded bigoted or intolerant. It is an unfortunate fact that those crying ‘bigot’ are typically the most narrow minded of all. It seems every week there is another example of their dangerous agenda for us to discuss in this letter.
But not this week!
This week is simply a message of goodwill to every reader of my Weekly Dose of Common Sense. Whether you are participating in religious worship this Easter or simply enjoying a break with your family and friends, let us all remember how wonderful our nation and way of life truly are and why we need to work hard to keep it that way.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
