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Nov. 4th, 2004 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melwilFrom ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sangerin
Ten things (or more) I love about the USA
-The people who smiled at us in San Fransisco, finding snow in Yosemite, the immensness of the Grand Canyon
-Hershey Bars
-Aaron Sorkin and Joss Whedon
-The guys who taught us how to have a snow ball fight on the banks of the Rio Grande
-Ben Folds
-The political system - almost as crazy as ours (a bit more name calling in the House of Reps and you'll be there)
-Washington DC - the Smithsonian, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building
-Autumn leaves
-Simon and Garfunkle
-Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry
-The snow in Taos
-The Bill of Rights
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twinkledru asked an interesting question about what it means to be a person from your country.
What does it mean to me, to be an Australian?
When I was growing up, when I was at school, it was about a fair go, mates, the ANZAC spirit (as long as you made fun of the Kiwis), making fun of the Poms while reading the women's magazines for news about the royals . . .
What does it mean now?
I think I want to think on it a bit more. Anyone got any ideas?
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
sangerin Ten things (or more) I love about the USA
-The people who smiled at us in San Fransisco, finding snow in Yosemite, the immensness of the Grand Canyon
-Hershey Bars
-Aaron Sorkin and Joss Whedon
-The guys who taught us how to have a snow ball fight on the banks of the Rio Grande
-Ben Folds
-The political system - almost as crazy as ours (a bit more name calling in the House of Reps and you'll be there)
-Washington DC - the Smithsonian, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building
-Autumn leaves
-Simon and Garfunkle
-Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry
-The snow in Taos
-The Bill of Rights
twinkledru asked an interesting question about what it means to be a person from your country.What does it mean to me, to be an Australian?
When I was growing up, when I was at school, it was about a fair go, mates, the ANZAC spirit (as long as you made fun of the Kiwis), making fun of the Poms while reading the women's magazines for news about the royals . . .
What does it mean now?
I think I want to think on it a bit more. Anyone got any ideas?
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
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no subject
on 2004-11-04 07:49 am (UTC)I don't really tend to define myself based on national identity. In fact I'd say I don't really have a sense of national identity at all and tend to think pretty ill of nationalism (it seems to do more harm than good). If anything, I love the way Australia is fairly socilist in nature, and I don't ever want to see that go. Compared to a lot of nations, Australia is a shining beacon in this respect (compare our medical system to the US, compare our social safety net to the US etc). If that means I have to pay more tax to have these things, then that is fine. :) So I suppose I am trying to say that I identify with the lifestyle quite a bit, I think it's superior in the amount of respect it has for the freedom of the individual and encouraging self-actualization as opposed to forcing people to be a cog within some giant machine.
I actually think we could go further, but that would involve me engaing the crazy socialist lefty side of my brain, and none of us are ready for that! :P