The Aussie Spirit

I am an Australian. I was born here and have lived here all my life. I have travelled across the land and lived in most of the major cities. Our country is a unique one, geographically, environmentally and culturally. We are a country of endless deserts and tropical lagoons. A country of considerable wealth and offensive poverty. A country of sporting greats and Nobel Laureates. A country of rigid right-wing and flaky left-wing ideals. Renowned for our beastly work ethic and mind-numbing laziness alike. I am an Australian and I don't like it.

It is not the land itself I don't like. I think our country is great as a piece of real estate. We get a pretty good range of weather, and our extremes aren't unbearable. We have a beautiful country, with deserts, forests, marshlands, lakes, rivers, oceans, mountains, valleys and plains. It is my countymen who make me ashamed to be an Australian. My countrymen and the culture they have come to represent. Before I wrote this the website asked me to list some keywords that would be useful for people searching for articles of this type. I wrote: Aussie, Australia, Racism, xenophobia, lazy, apathetic, violent, drunk, alcoholism, drugs, un-educated, boorish, bogans. I couldn't think of any others but I think I have enough to work with there.

There are several images of Australians recognised domestically, internationally or both which are fast getting out of hand. I wish to address all of these and offer an opinion of why they are getting out of hand. For some of them I have some ideas how to fix them, for others I am at a loss.

1. The little Aussie Battler

Probably the most universally recognised stereotype. This Australian is the underdog who never had a real good shot at life. They are likely to be farmers or handicapped, and they are always a target for a good government rort. They are honest, simple folk who don't want much from life but still have to struggle for the little they do want. They have faced enourmous setbacks in life, like drought or crippling disease, but still take it all in their stride and love having a laugh with a mate even though times are so tough.

My problem with this Australian is that rather than this being a person who is admirable despite ther unfortunate circumstance, this is now something that people aspire to. And they do this by being lazy, and not trying to better themselves if they can and by putting themselves, consciously, in situations that are impossible to negotiate and then call themselves little Aussie Battlers because things are so hard. They aren't though, because they weren't born into these circumstances, they put themselves or allow themselves to be put there. So instead of be a rose that grew out of the briar, we are now simply planting rose seeds in briar patches.

We all know these people. That girl that wants to sail around the world at 16, but the people don't think it's a good idea. The public was up in arms about this and she was branded the little Aussie battler and "the man" was trying to crush her dreams. The thing is, that's not all she can do. She is a perfectly capable young person who seemed to come from a good, middle class family. So go to school, get a job and focus on something else. Plans change in life and you need to roll with the punches.

The reason these imposters are so rife in our society is due to a number of factors. The main factor, in my mind, is the media. From time to tim ACA or Today Tonight runs one of their exposes on how the government is ripping off Joe Sixpack (beer not abs) or single mother of three from the western suburbs, or little Wheelchair Wally. And every time they do these segments are the most biased, recklessly irresponsible and insulting efforts at journalism you are ever likely to see. And the mindless herd of sheep that is the Australian viewing public eat it up like icecream. And all of a sudden every dole-bludging, corner cutting, handout grabbing advocate against contraception feels vindicated in their "plight" and has some new department or policy or intitiative to blame their problems on. In reality, these people could be far more successful if they wanted to. And yes it would require them to make better choices, and become smarter people and harder workers, but it has to start with the desire to. And it's just not there because it doesn't have to be. They say human beings are capable of great things when faced with life-or-death situations. The rest of that thought must surely be a question: why aren't they when they are not?

2. The rough diamond with the heart of gold.

As a single male looking for the attention of ladies, this is probably one that irks me the most. The rough diamond with the heart of gold is usually a tradesman or a sports player. Girls are looking for them because of one thing...looks. they look good to them and they look good to their friends. Then they try to justify their shallowness by saying "Oh, he's just a little rough around the edges". This is the man women want to marry. They bring them to BBQ's, and while the women sit there and talk about who got married and who's getting pregnant, their lumps sit idly by, and sip on one of 2 beers for the evening (because they're driving so the girlfriend can have her 4 Bacardi Breezers) and stare into space with a not-so-bright look on their face. This is passed by the women as "oh he's just quiet" or "he's a thinker". I guarantee you more often than not he is anything but.

I describe these guys as rough diamonds because when they are with "the boys" they are completely different people. Believe me, I've seen it. They are pack dogs. They are the ones in the bar all wearing the same brand T-Shirt in different fluoro colours and the same pairs of jeans. They are Steve, John Mark and Dave, but Apostles they are not. They are the ones who drink too much rum and start exerting their manliness like a stench from a sewer. You want to know where violence in bars and clubs comes from? It starts here. And the reason they can do it is because they show up Sunday dinner with Mum and their vapid girlfriends and sit there like a bump on the lawn, and the girls are saying "ooh isn't he a gentleman, such a big stong man."

I know tradesman and sports players who are indeed gentlemen, but they are a world away from our rough diamonds. Our rough diamonds are a by-product of our binge-drinking, superficial, sleep around, get married then divorced because we can culture. They should be used to plays sports, or build stuff, then locked in cages at night, not unlike zoo animals on display to the public. Because honestly what is the point?

Next instalment: The girls at the races