Feeling good but remaining ignorant

I was reading this today, and I was struck by the similarity of comments of the historian, and the academic on the interface of politics and religion. Here’s the first quote -

“Although Howard acknowledged that ‘there is certainly a need for Australians to understand their history better’, the effect of his rhetoric is not to inspire historical curiosity but to reinforce historical prejudice. He suggest that the ‘real’ history of Australia is to be found by dismissing ugly versions of the past as ideological and embracing more positive ones because they rest on ‘the facts of history’. But these ‘facts of history’ are never specified – it is a history lesson for people who know no history, bvut who want to be assured that Australia’s past was not as bad as it is said to be.”

The use and abuse of Australian history / Graeme Davison. St Leonards, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2000, p. 6.

So, Howard attacks his opponents on the grounds of their understandings of history, but offers no specifics on his understandings. It’s a history for those ignorant of history. As such, it’s a confirmation of their uninformed prejudices, and an invitation to be relaxed and comfortable (and uniformed and prejudiced).

Now, this parallels what is said in the following quote, concerning the conservative Howardian approach to discussion of values. He doesn’t state what values there are, just confirms the existence of values in his listeners. All this, as he confirms the essential commonsense, good will, and belief in the mythical Australian Fair Go by his listeners. There’s a lot of discussion on this topic in Marion Maddox’s book, but this quote gives the idea. The quote specifically relates to utterances of Peter Costello, but it seems a common conservative rightist approach.

"Between these two conversations, there was growing talk about ‘values’. Everyone worried about who’s got them, who needs them and how to impart them; but no one said what they were. All the talk assumed that everyone knows what ‘values’ are. No one questioned them: apparently everyone does know what everyone else means when they talk about ‘values’. Except me."

God under Howard: the rise of the religious right in Australian politics / Marion Maddox. Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2005, p. 184.