The value of protest

It is amazing to me the tension that arose in the U.S. in the '60s over issues of peace and Civil Rights ["The Quiet Campus," fall '96] as the Australian temperament is too easy-going to lend itself to this kind of passion.

I have always admired the strength and passion of the American people and have often been annoyed by the apparent apathy of my people. It has not been till recent times that I have realized the possible damages of this passion. The advent of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party have produced in our society a blatant movement of prejudice, and as a society we don't know what to do. Our easy-going and accepting character may end by its extension to One Nation.

While I will always remember with pride the day I saw Mandela speak at a rally after his release and the day I saw Martin Luther King's grave in Atlanta, I hope that we never need such leaders in my country--and that the "undemocratic" processes of compulsory voting and ban of guns will ensure this peace.

Rebecca Case

Sydney, Australia, via e-mail