Back on Easter weekend, I was at a marina with Jeff, waiting to meet someone. We started talking to the woman at the next table. When she found out we were Americans, she began talking at length about her travels in the US, her observations about the US, her thoughts about race relations in the US, etc.
This just happens every now and then. Several times in the past year, we've met people who had a lot to say about the US when the found out we were Americans. Only once did it get sort of confrontational. The other times it was only clear that these people had thought a lot about the US as an international power, as a creator and exporter of cultural values, as a melting pot, as a concept, as an example (good and bad), etc.
Australians, on average, spend more time thinking about the US than you might imagine. Not all Australians and not all the time. But we are a subject of reflection, contemplation, revulsion, admiration....well, we just are a subject.
It's rare to watch TV news shows or daytime talk shows that don't mention the US at some point. All the morning news/talk shows have a segment on entertainment and it's always from the US it seems.
Does this mean Australia universally loves us and wants to be just like us? Oh, hell no! There is a lot of conflict in the relationship between Australia and the US (at least for the Australians). They believe they must maintain a buddy-buddy relationship militarily because we're the only thing that will protect them from the marauding hordes of Indonesians / Muslims / Chinese / North Koreans / villian-of-your-choice who could come swarming across their borders any minute! Yet they (like so many) are not keen about our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially when Diggers (the Aussie equivalent of "GI") die there.
They watch the way America has dealt with African Americans and Native Americans and wonder if we're doing a better or worse job than they are with their Aboriginal citizens. They seem a bit confused, sometimes assuming that the Aboriginal status is most like the African American status because both cultures refer to themselves as "black". In fact, the more accurate comparision would be to Native Americans.
They love shopping for American products online now that the Aussie dollar is so strong but resent that it's tough to "buy Australian" since American products often dominate.
Like to travel to the US (especially Las Vegas! Oh, how they love Las Vegas!) but get fretful if American tourism drops. They seem to attach much more value to American tourism than to European or Asian tourism, though it seems from my limited experience that Asian and European tourism is a much stronger stream. I get the impression they look at American tourism as more validating.
Love their Maccas (McDonalds) and KFC but deeply resent the intrusion of American holidays like Halloween.
There are plenty of Aussies who can blissfully go days, weeks, and possibly even months without thinking about America. But I'd bet there are very few Aussies who never think about the US. Or form an opinion about us.
The best part about living outside your own country for a while is getting an outsiders perspective on it. If you were to form an opinion of the US based solely on TV coverage and Facebook, you'd probably come to the conclusion that it's a gigantic loony bin! We are....different, very different from Australia.
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