Life & Wisdom Quote by Hugh Mackay

Mackay pulls off a neat rhetorical judo move: he takes a national self-image - “Australian to do such things” - and immediately undercuts the comforting pride of it. The line sounds like a defense, but it’s really a diagnosis. By admitting the acts may be “uncivilised,” he refuses the usual patriotic varnish, then pivots to “it’s human,” shifting responsibility from a mythic national character to the messy baseline of behavior people reach for under pressure, fear, boredom, or group heat.

The intent isn’t to excuse so much as to expose how easily “national identity” becomes an alibi. Calling something “Australian” can make it feel quaint, inevitable, even lovable. Mackay’s subtext is: be careful. The same story we tell ourselves to bond and laugh - the larrikin streak, the tough pragmatism, the rule-bending - can also be the story that launders cruelty, mob instincts, or casual disregard for others. “Uncivilised” does important work here: it signals that the speaker isn’t romanticizing roughness; he’s naming the cost of it.

Contextually, this sits in a long Australian conversation about whether certain public behaviors (boorishness, scapegoating, “don’t be soft” contempt) are cultural trademarks or just ordinary human failings given a local accent. Mackay, a social commentator, lands on the sharper answer: stop pretending our worst impulses are unique - or harmless. They’re human, which means they’re common, predictable, and therefore our responsibility to manage, not celebrate.