Thru the Looking Glass

     You think you know what I'm drinking, right? Caramel machiatto? No, it's a Flat White. (And a Lemon Curd tart. Don't go there.)  Here's the thing about Australia: it is easy to think you are in the United States of America, and you are not. 

     I've talked about language as a differentiation. Some social issues in the two countries have run roughly parallel courses. Do redefinition of gender roles, multi-culturalism and immigration sound like American hot topics of the last quarter of the 20th Century? True for Australia, too. (Please to remember that flaming Women's Libber: Germaine Greer: Australian!)

     According to Hugh MacKay's 1993 report, Reinventing Australia, the Mind and Mood of Australia in the 90s, these above were critical social issues for Australians between 1968 and 1993.

     Those decades saw a tremendous rise in the number of women in the workforce, to include 53% of all  married women in 1990. Aussie men were uncertain; hatred of women as a class and mock sensitivity being two responses that developed. Australia abandoned its "Whites Only" policy in 1968. This threatened the image of Aussie as pioneer, soldier and sportsman. Although Australia is one of the most urbanized places in the world, the fantasy of the "Real Australian" as a out-back bushranger promoted a craze for 4 wheel drive.

     However, Mackay claims that Australia leads the Western nations in the boldness of its multi-cultural initiatives. As migration to Australia has shifted from European to Asian, the white majority welcomes migrants, with the caveat "as long as they..." followed by a list.

     Migrants are welcome as long as they:

     *are prepared to embrace our way of life and its values

     *make learning English a top priority

     *not robbing jobs

     *not bringing their prejudices and conflicts into our country

     *assimilate and don't live in ethnic enclaves

     *import enriching culture; especially FOOD

Sounds familiar, no?

     Another familiar refrain: teenage binge drinking is rampant. In fact, Australian drug educators have concluded that this is a lost generation, in spite of a Federal Government campaign.

     But wait, there is one huge difference between Australia and the US:

The Australian Media loathe, despise, hate, disparage, denigrate, satirize etc. PARIS HILTON!