... that's what i like about you ;)
an interesting change has taken over me since i started my blog. i am no longer just another australian able to view america as a vast and distant land separated by thousands of physical miles and populated with people whose motivations i could never relate to.
the average australians’ view of the united states changed dramatically as it lead us into what some australians believe to be an unnecessary conflict.
public opinion of the united states has plummeted, closely followed by a vociferous minority nicknaming (australian prime minister) john howard ‘the bonsai’ (‘the little bush’) for ‘following american orders’.
as an australian, i too watched powerless as my country was ‘lead’ into international action that appeared to be unduly aggressive and too expensive in terms of the human cost to the world.
despite my political silence on ju, i am a regular reader of several political blogs. i have ‘pet’ issues that i follow around the politics forum, such as the way “ju international relations” between our citizens has been known to fall apart over this issue momentarily.
it is easy to want to blame america. tempting, really. and much easier. but to have the luxury to sit back and say ‘america is right’ or ‘america is wrong’, you need to maintain your ignorance not only of the truth, but of the american people themselves.
i have lost my ability to view america as a far-away place battling with racial hatred and internationally-ignorant citizens. whilst i do not deny that these things can be part of the reality of american life, they are an awful reality that the majority of the populace rejects on a personal level and fights hard against.
i will never have the answers to any of the questions posed by the political machine of the world. but i will continue to appreciate my ‘ground-level’ view of world events via ju from people i know to be something other than bloody minded morons.