> > Still, its better to be deprecated than to be ignored, especially if you are
>> an inconsequential nation like Australia. If you look at it like that, its the
>> second highest form of flattery. Second only to imitation, but there doesn't
>> seem to be an international rush to take up Aussie Rules football.
>
>
>That's the second Great Aussie Personality Trait: neurotic underdogism.
>Sometimes I think this is a nation of Chihuahuas.
Chihuahuas! Oh dear.
"Battlers" please, "little Aussie battlers". A little neurotic I'll grant you. It seems even wealthy Australians regard themselves as battlers:
Overconsumption in Australia: the rise of the middle-class battler http://www.tai.org.au/WhatsNew_Files/WhatsNew/DP49sum.pdf The Australia Institute (PDF file)
In this paper Clive Hamilton reports new evidence on perceptions of need in Australia. It shows that a majority of wealthy households believe that they cannot afford everything they really need and a large proportion believe that they spend nearly all of their income on the basic necessities of life. By contrast, significant minorities in the lowest income group say that they can afford everything they need. The distinction between real and perceived hardship gives rise to what is dubbed the 'middle-class battler' syndrome, a phenomenon with great importance for modern Australian politics. The perceived deprivation of the middle classes underpins popular conceptions of the social condition, crowds out sympathy for those experiencing genuine hardship and motivates tax cutting and welfare programs for the middle classes.
>But really, I like this place and the people are here a lovely. You know,
>some of my best friends are Australians...
You're too kind. ;-) Don't know what you people see in Chihuahuas myself. I used to have a little Miniature Pinscher, at least she didn't yap all the time.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas