Theos-Talk Archives (May 2005 Message tt00517)

Hey,

Before anyone beats me to the punch:
JOHNSON CAN'T TELL PAGE 21 FROM PAGE 19!! Therefore nothing he ever 
wrote is to be trusted :)

Cass wrote a wonderful summary, which describes every Australian 
I've ever met in person or online. The contrasts and similarities 
with America are evident. As an Australian visitor once told 
me, "money talks in America" in ways that it doesn't almost anywhere 
else. (And this was in the 1990s-- it's far more true now.) Our 
disparities of wealth and poverty, and tendency to lionize the rich 
and demonize the poor, distinguish us from all other advanced 
industrial nations. Skipping forward to your final item, "minding 
one's own business"-- what's that? Never heard of it in America :)

Your country is tied with Brazil for top of my list of places to 
visit which I've haven't yet.

Thanks for sharing,

Paul
> 
> Most aussies have a live and let live attitude, We are not envious 
of new or old money but don't like to be scammed.
> 
> We are tolerant of other cultures providing they dont impinge on 
our way of life.
> We are not particularly religious but respect the right of others 
to practice their religion.
> We do not take ourselves seriously and love to poke fun at 
ourselves and others.
> We don't like "tall poppies" and cut them down to size if we think 
they need it.
> We love it when the aussie battler wins tattslotto 
> We get pissed off with people who don't carry their own weight, 
and bludge off the system.
> We love our beer, our wine, our cheese and think it is the best in 
the world.
> We love our state and think it is the best in Australia.
> We love the sun, getting away for the weekends,sitting outside a 
cafe enjoying a latte.
> We love our sport and will turn anything into a competition. 
> We love our animals
> We hate paying taxes and interest.
> We are multicultural but wouldnt trade our culture for any other 
in the world.
> We feel sorry for the brits who have to live in that cold climate.
> We feel sorry for the americans who have to live with all those 
guns.
> We see Europe as an educational experience but wouldnt want to 
live there.
> We are against capital punishment.
> We don't like War but stand by our allies if they ask for our help.
> We will share our pay packet with other less fortunate countries 
in need of aid.
> We will fight to the death to support our family and our nation.
> We will buy you a beer, share our smokes, lend you $10 but will 
set fire to your house if you take our women/men
> As ex-convicts we are very suspicious of any form of authority.
> We will keep a government in power providing they keep our pockets 
half full.
> We live around the italian mafia, the triads, the eastern european 
mafia, and the newly arrived vietnamese mafia.
> If an Aussie's calls you his mate, know that your back will be 
covered. If you do the wrong thing by him, watch your back!
> We have pride, dignity tolerance and integrity.
> Our contribution to the global stage is that we mind our own 
business and let others get on with theirs.
> 
> Cass
> 
> kpauljohnson <kpauljohnson@y...> wrote:
> Hey,
> 
> One thing I've been noticing about theos-talk is the incredible 
> geographic diversity of the regular contributors. I know we have 
> people here from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Greece, the 
> Netherlands, Germany, India, New Zealand-- who am I leaving out? 
> And yet there is next to no acknowledgment of that fact, which 
could 
> make for some interesting discussions.
> 
> The whole business of subraces and rootraces etc. I find quite 
> useless in understanding the relationships among nations. (Whereas 
> some notions that are unscientific are at least hermeneutically 
> useful, like those of Jung.) Classifying nations astrologically 
> doesn't seem to shed much light either.
> 
> Frankly, I'm deeply concerned about the direction that the 
American 
> national character has been taking in recent years, and wondering 
if 
> the current period is an aberration or an expression of potential 
> that was present all along. From being a bastion of intellectual 
> freedom we are turning into an empire of propaganda and 
> disinformation.
> 
> Enough on my worries. What are your perceptions of national 
> character, that of your own country or others? How is it playing 
> out on the global stage, and where does it seem to be headed? 
> Sometimes I think it's the most crucial issue facing the world, 
and 
> at others I think there's no such thing.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Paul
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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