Faith, Hope, and Reconciliation: Notes

Author: Faith Bandler

Date: 1999

Personal Context

Historical/Social Context

Delivered in 1994, when Bandler was 79 years old
1967 Referendum: 90% “yes” vote to include Indigenous Australians in the nation’s population count and to allow Parliament to make laws to specifically benefit Indigenous Australians. The 90% showed the strong support for indigenous rights.
In the 90s there was an intense movement for the reconciliation between White and Aboriginal Australians

Purpose

To maintain activism for the long term to seek true reconciliation
To inspire the audience to overcome the adversity of discrimination and promote change
To campaign against social and political inequality and Indigenous injustice and disadvantage

Audience

Audience gathered at the Talkin’ Up Reconciliation Convention in Wollongong
All Australians, regardless of race or age
Those interested in indigenous issues, issues of social justice, peace, and equality

Techniques

Metaphor: Bandler addresses fellow activists such as herself, who have "lived, breathed, struggled and climbed the ramparts of the rugged past." This metaphorical language encourages her listening audience to envisage the struggle that has given the Aboriginals the rights they currently enjoy
Metaphor: The sentence, “they are chained in their stubbornness, but we are free,” is a description of the regular close-minded attitudes which were inflicted towards the Aboriginal population. The term “chained” helps make their stubbornness more ‘fixed’ and ‘immovable’.

The title Faith, Hope, and Reconciliation is both a Biblical allusion, and a pun. It is in reference to Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 13, in which St. Paul states we must have “faith, hope, and charity”. As charity is seen as the greatest of all three, Bandler’s alteration indirectly suggests that reconciliation is the greatest challenge in Australia.
The line, “we should not ask what is in it for me, but what is in it for us”, is an allusion to President John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration speech in 1961 where he stated, “And so my fellow Americans - ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. She removes the patriotic focus, but retains the point regarding selflessness

Cliche: Sentences such as "not handed on a platter" or "put on the back burner" keep the speech’s objective simple and blunt.

Alliteration: The terms “terrible tragedy” and “ramparts of the rugged past” lend musicality to Bandler’s delivery, making it easier for listeners to comprehend
Repetition: The repeated usage of the terms "millions" gives added emphasis to the extent of world suffering rather than purely focusing on the difficulties faced by Indigenous Australians. This enables her to point out that prejudice is a universal problem and that their prime concerns deal with the nature of humanity itself.

Rhetorical questions such as, “What is reconciliation about?” and “If not now, when? If not us, who?” are implemented in order to inspire and challenge the audience

Other Devices

The use of inclusive language in order to establish a connection with Bandler’s audience, e.g. “Dear friends …”, “we are free”, “what we have seen recently”. It helps position her as a part of her audience, to assist them in facing the challenges of the future
The personal anecdote, i.e. “my learning was rather hard and slow” helps the audience to relate and connect to Bandler

	Created by Hunter Lynch over 10 years ago

Secondary Advanced English (Module B: Speeches) Note on Module B: Speeches (Faith, Hope, and Reconciliation), created by Hunter Lynch on 26/06/2014.