Enough Trendy Anti-Americanism!! Please!

I've just got to vent about so many of my friends hopping on the 'anti-american' bandwagon...

So many of them seem to have this unreasonable hate of someone else, when they know nothing more about them than what their accent is. It's a pure 'racist' attitude.

One friend of mine was all set to hate someone, until someone told him her accent was Canadian. Now he likes her. A LOT.

Another friend laughed mockingly at US customs when he heard they didn't know where Queensland was. I asked him where he thought 'Arkansaw' was. He looked at a map of the USA and said "Well I can see Arkansas... but no Arkansaw..."

Point proven.

Anyway, Australians love to hate Americans. We also love their movies, their tv, their technology, their culture in general. We love to hate some of it, but there is so much of it that we simply consume, without even realising that it's American. We think we're so cool because we can go anywhere in the world and people think we're great because we're Aussies. Well let me assure you - because of our lovely Prime Miniature and the support he's received from over half of the Australian people, that's changing!

When we travelled 3 years ago, even 2 years ago, I proudly wore an Aussie flag on my pack. (accompanied by an aboriginal flag in a feeble attempt to offset the union jack). Last year when we travelled, I felt that the world (or more correctly, Australia) had changed enough that I wasn't proud to advertise myself as an Australian oversseas. Anyway, that is a different story...

I'm the first to admit that American foreign policy (and much of it's internal policy) leaves much to be desired. I also admit that there are a lot of Americans who have not had the opportunity to be educated about the world in a way that is not overly US-centric. This does breed a form of arrogance that many people hate. However America has produced (and is stil producing) some of the smartest, nicest, most brilliant people on earth. It produces scientific breakthroughs that will carry the world forward, past challenges like AIDS and Cancer, it produces movies that we lap up, products that we love to consume and a culture that, although we like to think we say 'no' to it, pervades our lives in ways that we welcome.

So if your first reaction when you meet an American is 'Oh no... An American!? I hate Americans!', then I'd like you to explain to me how that is different from someone meeting an African and thinking 'Oh no, a black person'? It's not 'biological race' based, but geographical is the same thing.

Adam and Wil

The world is coming apart at the seams... First, some of our bestest friend move to Canada, and now it's Adam and Wil's last breakfast show EVER. These are two guys who have been a part of my life for 5 years. They were who we tuned in to over the internet when we lived in the USA to get away from horrendous local media in North Carolina. They are the creators of numerous phrases, now common language amonsgt Australians from all walks of life. Eg 'Go off like a frog in a sock'. They are the two of the three people I spend at least the first half hour of my day with. They are the reason I often sit in my car in the carpark at work for 10 minues after arriving, just to hear them finish their ranting. They are the reason I have shared in the rage of many Australians telling it LIKE IT IS. I could go on and on. Suffice to say I am sad, it is the end of an era and I can't imagine life ever quite being the same again. Tomorrow will be like Sept 11 - except we have had a warning, and we are powerless to stop it happening.

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/breakfast/default.htm

Bye Bye Canadians

Owen and Corrina leave Australia physically and become virtual friends as of tomorrow...

A bit bummed about that.

Voting Reasons

I think the reason Johnny got back in is that most people vote for who they think will be best for THEM. In fact, it is completely expected that that is how you will vote - that usually means someone who you think will keep interest rates low or will look after you when you retire or who will give you a tax break.

I reckon we should vote for politicians (if we can find them) who we think will do the best thing for the underpriveleged, the struggling, the environment... the world. And that they won't work for only Australia's best interests, but in the interests of the WORLD.

Who is the intended audience here?

I think I have avoided blogging so far because I find it weird wondering who is reading this. At the moment, noone will be reading this because I haven't really told anyone I have a blogg. But as soon as I link it to my website, it could be read by friends, family work associates, mortal enemies.... ANYONE! Thinking about that makes me realise how much I filter what I say / opinions I express depending on the audience at the time. Is that bad?

I'm not talking about whether I could swear or not... that's not something I really do anyway. But things like expressing political/cultural opinions... I guess if I have opinions that someone I know may find troubling / insulting, then it may actually be a good idea to get them out there. I just hope that if I did write anything here that troubles someone, they would be willing to discuss it with me!

Cheers!

Adelaide

I discovered I am actually a football fan. I realised this when I felt a deep sense of grief when Brisbane lost the grand final on Saturday.

BLOG

Hey people of planet earth!

This is my first blog entry, and may well be my last. We'll just see how it goes I guess. Inspired by Jo and Mikey in Canberra, I thought I'd give it a go! Nothing interesting to write though, because it's 5:30pm and I want to get home to my lovely wife!