abitofanish

quality time

Dad has been coming up to newcastle a bit lately because he is managing a job up here for his work.
It's been nice to see him a bit more, we've been going out for coffee's and having lunch together. It is really odd though because i've been realising how much i don't know about him and how it's hard sometimes to know what to talk about.
He was here earlier this week and we met up for coffee, we had been chatting a lot and all was going well. Then for some reason i brought up that i had been watching the sbs program 'speaking in tongues'. Dad had never seen it but i thought i might as well talk about it anyway. I was telling him about how they were discussing what had been going on in Cronulla and that they had a scientist talking about the gene side of different ethnic groups and whether that had anything to do with how different groups interacted. Then i told him about the second guest, a guy from macquarie uni who supported the idea of a white australia policy. i went on to tell dad how this guy was actually american and had moved her in 79 and that i thought he had no right to try to tell people how to run their own country.
dad responded by saying something like 'well it's fine for people to come here from other countries but they have to realise this is a christian australia'
he also went on to say that when people move here they should be here to become australian, and then something about how the muslims are taking over....
i had so many problems with what he was saying but i just couldn't say anything... i couldn't comprehend that my own dad had just basically said that people should leave their culture behind when coming to australia - and saying it's 'christian australia'.
i don't think he actually realises how similar christian and muslim beliefs are either, he made it sound like a disease.
but because i didn't want the chat with me storming out of the cafe i changed the subject.

since then i have been thinking back to sunday school. now, i wouldn't call myself a christian anymore but that doesn't mean i've completely forgotten all those years i did. anyway, i remember hearing all the stories about jesus and how he would spend time with the sick, the poor, even let a prostitute wash his feet... To me, those lessons are the most important. They taught me to respect people, no matter who they are. To be non judgemental, to care for people, and most of all to accept people.
Sure, the old testament was all about judgement, and gnashing of teeth and hell. But i think by the new testament we can all see that those laws set down, the comandments, just weren't practical in the world we live in.
it's not cool to shun people, it's not cool to say other people are wrong because they don't live exactly like you do.
i wonder if my father feels like the jewish faith is a threat to his anglican ways? it's different, just like the muslim faith but in the end it's the same god. but maybe becauce jesus was a jew it's ok. but because some muslims like blowing things up, that makes all muslims bad.

it's just so frustrating when i think that my dad thinks that way.
this christmas when i go to my parents house for lunch, i'll have to write a list of topics not to bring up....