Australian Exceptionalism

[Bullrush]

Moved to Australia just over 2 years ago thinking I'd be here for maybe 5years then take the family back to NZ.

Can't see us ever going back now. Yes - we have it better here then so many of us realise. Even compared to 1st world countries like NZ, the US, the UK etc

 

[MajorlyRagerly]

Do you only know bogans draped in the Aussie flag? Have you not ever met an American, or an Italian?

Australia has a long and proud history of taking the piss out of ourselves and for being embarrassed by explicit patriotism. That only began to change with the Howard / Hansen era in which the long boom of toleration, extending from Whitlam through Fraser, Hawke and Keating got violently turned on its head.

I work in finance in HK, the vast vast majority of Aussies I know are certainly not bogans, more from the privately educated sector (almost exclusively actually).

Yes, I know a few Americans & Italians too. Americans these days are more embarrassed & the Italians don't seem unduly bothered by anything!

 

[Schadenfreude]

We keep our bogans at home... And on contiki tours.

 

[Karl]

I think Australians have an innate suspicion that the second you start thinking you've got it real good or that your shit doesn't stink, THAT is when it all goes pear shaped - and so to ward against the demise caused by complacency and self-congratulation we swing the pendulum hard in the other direction more often than we need to perhaps.

 

[Scotty]

I work in finance in HK, the vast vast majority of Aussies I know are certainly not bogans, more from the privately educated sector (almost exclusively actually).

Yes, I know a few Americans & Italians too. Americans these days are more embarrassed & the Italians don't seem unduly bothered by anything!

On a holiday through Croatia a few years ago I was complaining to my wife (then girlfriend) about how arrogant and annoying both Italians and Americans are. Then we just happen to meet an American couple that helped us find accommodation on one island, and we had a few dinners with them discussing various things, including politics (none of us liked Bush at all), and they were humble and knowledgeable and great fun.

The very next island we hopped to we met an Italian couple, and again got along very well with them. We have had a few emails back and forth from both couples over the years.

So those damn Italians and Americans - destroying my generalisations and stereotypes.

 

[Schadenfreude]

I met some americans in Italy who were offended that I thought sick people should be treated in hospitals...

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Did sporting stars at your school really get lopped down? Not at mine (albeit it a fair while ago now).

Nor mine. In fact, if you were part of a sporting team you were allowed a very long rope in terms of academic and disciplinary matters. Once had a fight with the first XIII Captain after he hit me with a broom in study hall after I told him to piss off and stop annoying me. While I received a slap on the wrist (the head determined it to be self defence) in the form of a verbal warning, my assailant only received lunch detention even though school policy for such actions was instant expulsion and reporting to the police.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I think the answer is no, but I'm not sure what "on q and a " means or how I would have been seen on it.

Q&A is a weekly ABC program that looks to discuss political and social issues. Similar to that of Insight on SBS.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I think Australians have an innate suspicion that the second you start thinking you've got it real good or that your shit doesn't stink, THAT is when it all goes pear shaped - and so to ward against the demise caused by complacency and self-congratulation we swing the pendulum hard in the other direction more often than we need to perhaps.

Never realised we were such a superstitious nation in terms of economic and social development. What you state above at least to me is the equivalent of throwing salt over your shoulder or knocking on wood to ward off bad luck. Though, you do make a very apt point and its something that drive me crazy about our national psyche, one that I personally think is more to our detriment than benefit. It keeps us permanently stuck in a constant state of denial and negative selfish thinking. While we should be looking to the future and ways to build our nation to ensure all our achievements as per the article continue to our mutual benefit, unfortunately however, we tend to fall for populist politics and propaganda set by a system that is increasingly aligning itself with short sighted positioning rather than well thought through and considered infrastructure planning.

 

[Karl]

Never realised we were such a superstitious nation in terms of economic and social development. What you state above at least to me is the equivalent of throwing salt over your shoulder or knocking on wood to ward off bad luck.

That wasn't the flavour I was shooting for. It was more that perhaps it seems to us that when successful people believe they have "made it" and start flashing that success around they take their eye off the ball and disaster follows. Eternal vigilence motivated my playing a mental trick on yourself - if you always have a view that things are tough etc, you won't get complacent and you won't lose what you've worked for.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

That wasn't the flavour I was shooting for. It was more that perhaps it seems to us that when successful people believe they have "made it" and start flashing that success around they take their eye off the ball and disaster follows. Eternal vigilence motivated my playing a mental trick on yourself - if you always have a view that things are tough etc, you won't get complacent and you won't lose what you've worked for.

Yes, there's an argument for that, however, I find it more often than not to be counterproductive. It promote conservatism and often leads to stagnation, something no economy can afford to fall into. We are very lucky in this country that we had those in the necessary positions of influence at the right times to implement the necessary infrastructure to ensure our economic viability and growth. However, in this current climate we run the risk of falling into the trap of maintaining not progressing what we have in the face of ensure our prosperity well into the future. Populist politics dictate any significant investment or legislative action is inherently flawed and bad. In my opinion that's complete rubbish. While things are good they are far from perfect and while we should be mature and confident enough to recognise this instead of fearing it, there's a great deal left to do. Complacency certainly shouldn't be an issue.