Introductory Speech Introducing Someone Else
Inclusion, citizenship and race Australian Human Rights Commission. Speech given to Australian Education Union Victoria Principals Conference, Melbourne. Check against deliveryAcknowledgementsWhat is inclusion, and how do we achieve it These are live questions, not only for teachers and educators, but for all of us who believe in a good society. I must confess I have arrived at the terminology of inclusion relatively late. Part of this reflects my background in political philosophy. This is a field in which debates can rage for years decades, centuries, if not millennia over the meaning of a word. Some 2. 40. 0 years since Plato wrote The Republic, philosophers still argue over the meaning of justice. As someone trained as a political philosopher, I tend to approach words with a measure of scepticism. These days fashion can trump rigour. Some of us dont value precision as much as the vibe. Ive heard far too many people refer to thought leadership, agility and disruption without giving a second thought to what these words mean and what, if anything, they add to our understanding. To see what I mean, just think of the following statement We have yet to fully unpack the learnings of our strategic review. In line with our objectives and values, we will engage our stakeholders in order to maximise sustainable outcomes. These are sentences I have made up. But they could have come out of many a corporate or organisational statement. Unfortunately, such vagueness can infect many discussions about diversity and inclusion. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER INTRODUCTION. Foundations of Revolt BOOK ONE. The Discovery of Feisal BOOK TWO. Opening the Arab Offensive BOOK THREE. Learn the Symptoms and Treatments of Aspergers Syndrome. If youre tired, frustrated, angry and confused about how to help your child or other loved one cope. How to Write a Speech. You may find that you are expected to speak at a public gathering or social event, and being prepared to speak at these occasions requires. Business networking is an effective lowcost marketing method for developing sales opportunities and contacts, based on referrals and introductions either faceto. This has come to be the language which many organisations today use when talking about questions relating to gender, race, disability and sexuality. Yet, very often, the conversations we have about such issues can have about them an elusive nature. I say this only as a note of qualification, as I do believe the language of inclusion can serve an important purpose. Namely, it reminds us that we should aim to have a society it could also be a community or company, an association or organisation whose members feel that they belong. This is the basic idea of inclusion to ensure that people are brought into the fold. This morning, Id like to reflect upon this task in a multicultural society. Todays Australia is a diverse one. Our people come from many racial and cultural backgrounds. Amid our differences, how is it that people come to belong to Australian societyHow must we go about ensuring that people arent left outside the fold And what does leadership on multiculturalism and racial equality look like The law and institutions. The American philosopher John Rawls, in his magnum opus A Theory of Justice, famously said Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. Introductory Speech Introducing Someone Else' title='Introductory Speech Introducing Someone Else' />Watch more Public Speaking Training videos http Ladies and gentle. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. If we are interested in finding out whether ours is an inclusive society, it is to our laws and institutions that we must first turn. For a long time, of course, Australian society was far from inclusive on matters of race. The history of modern Australia that is, Australia from the arrival of the British was founded on a certain intellectual and political act of racial exclusion. British settlement was justified on the idea of terra nullius, namely, that Australia counted as no ones land. It was an idea based on the view that the Indigenous population that occupied Australia was not of an order that could be regarded as civilised according to white, European standards. Consider, then, the dispossession of Aboriginal people during the colonial period, and subsequent policies of protection and assimilation. Read the Latest and Breaking IT and Technology News, Reviews, Analysis Opinion for Australian IT managers and professionals. Introductory Speech Introducing Someone Else' title='Introductory Speech Introducing Someone Else' />Consider the immigration restriction laws that were the first to be passed by the new federal parliament in 1. White Australia. And consider as well the Australian Constitution, which includes among the heads of power for the Commonwealth government, a race power a power to make laws regarding any race of people, whether for their benefit or detriment. In historical terms, much of Australian laws and institutions were remote from any kind of racial justice. The past five decades, however, have seen a redress of this history. The White Australia policy was gradually dismantled during the 1. And from a society which regarded itself as emphatically white and British, Australia has become a triumphantly multicultural society. Almost half of our population was born overseas or has a parent who was born overseas. The national identity is now expressed as one that includes people from all racial and cultural backgrounds. Our multiculturalism exists as our societys statement of inclusion. It says that everyone in Australian society should have a right to express their cultural heritage and identity. It says that we can leave room for multiple expressions of Australianness. Provided one accepts ones responsibilities as a citizen, your race or ancestry wont exclude you from claiming membership of the Australian national family. This goes well beyond just official statements about Australian national identity. It is in fact something that enjoys strong public support and endorsement. For a number of years now, the Scanlon Foundation as published an annual study of attitudes concerning social cohesion. Last year, the study found that 8. It was 8. 6 per cent in 2. In addition, there has been stable and robust support for immigration. According to the Scanlon Foundation, about two thirds of Australians believe that the number of migrants we take in is currently about right or is, in fact, too little. A multicultural Australia is also supported in law. Since 1. 97. 5, the Racial Discrimination Act has served effectively as a legislative expression of multiculturalism at the federal level. The law prohibits racial discrimination in Australia and guarantees equality before the law regardless of race. It has acted as a civil protection for all Australians against racial discrimination and racial hatred. During the past four years, we have had significant debate about section 1. C of the Racial Discrimination Act. This is the section which makes it unlawful to do an act that offends, insults, humiliates or intimidates someone because of their race. As many of you would know, the Parliament recently debated proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act. The Government had proposed, among other things, to remove the words offend, insult, and intimidate from section 1. C, and replace them with harass. These amendments were blocked by the Senate late last month. It has been my view and that of the Australian Human Rights Commission that Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act strikes an appropriate balance between freedom of speech and freedom from racial vilification. Over the past twenty years or so, courts have consistently interpreted section 1. C to apply only to acts that have serious and profound effects, which arent to be likened to mere slights. Based on the judicial interpretation of the Act, the mere claim of having been racially offended, insulted, humiliated or intimidated isnt determinative of a breach of section 1. C occurring rather, a court must consider whether the reasonable person of a target racial group would have found it to be racially offensive, insulting, humiliating or intimidating. Symposium by Plato Diotima Questions Socrates and The Speech of Diotima Summary and Analysis. Diotima Questions Socrates. Socrates retells a speech he heard from Diotima, a woman he describes as wise, but who was apparently a fictitious character. Once again, the structure of the speech begins with telling of the qualities of Love before talking of his works. Diotima also questions Socrates, who used to think that Love was beautiful and good. Socrates retells this questioning. When Diotima stated this, Socrates inferred that Love was ugly and bad. Diotima scolds him, and they establish that just because something is not beautiful, does not automatically make it ugly. Someone can be not wise and not ignorant, understanding things so hes not ignorant, but not understanding the reasons behind such things so hes not wise. Correct judgment places a person between wisdom and ignorance. Similarly, a person, and Love, can be neither beautiful nor ugly, but in between. Love is also not a god, Diotima and Socrates agree. Gods are beautiful and happy, Socrates would not deny. Diotima defines happiness as possessing good and beautiful things. If Love desires these things, he needs them and does not have them. Therefore, he cannot be a god since he does not have good and beautiful things. Socrates asks what he is then, to which she responds he is in between mortal and immortal a spirit. Love is a messenger between mean and gods. Gods and men interact through spirits, and one of them is Love. Socrates ends by asking about Loves mother and father, ending the questioning and introducing Diotimas speech. The Speech of Diotima. Diotimas speech begins with descriptions of Love himself. Love was conceived on the day of Aphrodites birth to Poros a word for resource and Penia poverty. This is why Love follows Aphrodite and why he loves beauty. Being the son of Poros and Penia, Love is always poor, far from delicate and beautiful, but rather tough and always living with Need. He is also a schemer after the good and beautiful, resourceful, and in pursuit of intelligence. He is neither mortal nor immortal, poor but never completely without resources, and in between wisdom and ignorance. Being in pursuit of wisdom, he cannot be ignorant, to be able to know he needs wisdom. Therefore, he is a lover of wisdom. This is the nature of Spirit called Love 4. Love, therefore, is not being loved, but rather, being a lover. Before discussing the use of Love for humans, Diotima asks what a lover of beautiful things desires. Socrates responds that the lover desires to possess the beautiful things. The word good is then exchanged with beautiful they discuss what a lover of good things desires. When a lover has the good things he desires, he will have happiness. The desire for happiness is established to be common for all people, but then, why are some said to be in love and others not Diotima states this is because a special kind of love is separated from other loves to be referred to as such. For other loves we use other words such as poetry. Diotima also refutes Aristophanes story, saying a person will not pursue their other half, unless the other half is good. People only love what is good. The object of Love is wanting to possess good forever. The following question becomes, what is the purpose of loveDiotima says it is giving birth in beauty, in body or in soul. She explains that everyone is pregnant reproduction only occurs in harmony. Reproduction is only beautiful, being a godly immortal process, and Beauty is in harmony with the divine. Love wants reproduction and birth in beauty 5. Reproduction is what mortals have as access to immortality, as it occurs for ever. If Love wants to possess good forever, it must want immortality. The question broached next is what causes love and desire in animals. Animals also seek immortality, which only comes about through reproduction. Reproduction occurs constantly, defining the term as replacing the new for the old. A person changes in their life and is said to be the same person, even though he is always being renewed, in manners and body. Similarly, studying is a way to preserve a piece of knowledge, replacing an old memory with a new one. For the sake of immortality everything shows zeal for its offspring, which is Love. Socrates asks if this is really true, and Diotima answers it is, using the example of honor. Humans pursue honor, wanting to become famous and immortal. They expect the memory of their virtue and brave acts to live on forever. Some men are pregnant in body, which is why they pursue women to achieve immortality through childbirth. Others are pregnant in soul. These are people like poets and craftsmen who give birth to wisdom and virtue. The most beautiful wisdom to come out of this is the art of politics, claims Diotima. A man who stays virtuous and becomes pregnant with wisdom will search for beauty. If he is lucky enough to find someone beautiful in soul, he will make him teem with ideas about virtue. Making contact and company with someone beautiful allows him to conceive and give birth to what he is carrying inside him. The best immortality is giving birth in the soul, particularly poetry, as they are remembered forever. This is evident by the honor they are given through shrines this also happens for politicians, but never for people solely pregnant in the body. Diotima ends her speech outlining what she refers to as the rites of love, otherwise referred to ask the ladder of love. First, Love leads a person to love one body and beget beautiful ideas. From these ideas, this person realizes that the beauty of one body is found in all bodies and if he is seeking beauty in form, he must see beauty in all bodies and become lover to all beautiful bodies. After that, the person moves on to thinking the beauty of souls is greater than the beauty of bodies. Here, Diotima specifically refers to giving birth through the soul to make young men better. This results in the lover seeing love in activities and laws, over the beauty of bodies. She also refers to these as beautiful customs, from which the lover loves beautiful things, or other kinds of knowledge. The lover will lastly fall on giving birth to many beautiful ideas and theories, finding love of wisdom. This love never passes away and is always beautiful. The end lesson is learning of this very Beauty wisdom, coming to know what is beautiful. Only at this point will a lover be able to give birth to true virtue. This person will be loved by the gods and is one of the few who could become immortal. With this, Socrates addresses the group speaking as himself, having finished telling Diotimas speech. This is why Socrates honors Love, the rights of Love, and practices them, urging others to do so as well. Analysis. Quoting Diotima questioning Socrates, Plato adds another layer of distance from the reader. This conversation occurred at an unspecified time previous to the dinner and may actually be a fictitious conversation Diotima is generally regarded a fictional creation of Socrates within the dialogues. The instability of the narration deepens when approaching the most serious speech to further undermine the authority of the words. Ultralight Aircraft Plans Pdf on this page. Diotimas speech is the most serious speech of the night, completely changing the atmosphere of the room by its end. It has some light touches, but rises to a remarkable crescendo in tone in lines 2. The end of this speech is radically different than anything else.