America being largest producer of ‘culture’ and having such a large geopolitical influence means that lots of countries compares itself to it. Because of its cultural hegemony most people know what’s broadly going on in the US, this means that any criticism of your country is dismissed or lessened by ‘at least we’re not America lol’.

I live in Australia, if you discuss adding dental or mental health to Medicare for example, people will inevitably say ‘at least we aren’t America’.

In the Queensland election news coverage on the ABC tonight, the analyst mentioned how great it is that the election results are accepted and it’s it’s just another day in democracy, as opposed to the US where everyone is prepared for the election to be contested and there’s voter suppression. While this IS true, and I do appreciate living in a semi-social liberal democracy that functions closer to intended, this detracts from the issues we have, discourages improvement and makes people feel complacent and smug.

Thoughts?

EDIT: the police is a good example too, if you critique the police you’ll often get a response like:

‘come on mate, our police aren’t that bad, not like in America where they shoot every black person they see, and sometimes even non black people(!) just for the heck of it, and they get of scott free, shits fucked there mate we got it pretty good aye. AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE.’

  • ethical_consumer_4 [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    So I'm an American living in Aus for almost two years. In that time, I have become the token American for friends and strangers alike, an easy target for people who consume a lot of American political news and are looking for someone to practice with. And I'm always down, it's still interesting after all this time to hear an outside perspective.

    One thing I rarely hear, however, is that Australia is heading down the same conservative, corporate path that lead to the USs current state. In fact, the media makes Australia seem so much more batshit conservative than any Fox News dude, besides maybe Tucker Carlson.

    From what I've seen, Australians have a lot to be worried about, in ways that mirror the downfall of the US. A rapidly rightward marching Overton window, as well as consolidation of conservative power. A heightening of xenophobia that I find much more troubling than anything I'd seen in the US besides immediately post 9/11. An economy based on extraction of depleting resources. A population that finds it extremely easy to tune out activist voices. And let me tell you, many Australians DO NOT want to hear such things from an American, a lesson I learned early.

    All this rambling to say the US is a low bar yes, but it should serve as a warning how easy it is to get there, not as an example to laugh at. Australians are a lot closer to Americans than they think. I love yall, but be humble. Also, I'll take all this back if you just process my damn visa... Please...