Cultural Differences

Back in my second post, I said that I was curious about the cultural differences between Australia and the US. While I couldn't in a million years compare and contrast two such vastly different cultures in the space of a few paragraphs (assuming I could at all), I did come up with a few things to think about. These are just my perceptions and I invite comment if I mis-perceive.

First, Australia is in ASIA. As difficult as this might be for Americans who are geographically-challenged to realize, there is a substantially stronger influence in Oz from Asian economic markets and political activities than in the west. This point was brought home to my when my friend Lesley said that her kids were learning Indonesian as a second language. That floored me. Why not French, Spanish, German, or the other languages that were offered to me as a child? Well, clearly, the best language for a kid to learn is one that they'll actually get a chance to use. I would have gotten much more mileage out of my language abilities if I had studied Spanish or French instead of German, but there's little reasoning with a fourth-grader. But I digress. . . .

The second point I'll raise is Australian conservatism. I was told before I went over there that Oz was a politically conservative country. And it's true -- John Howard is a big cheerleader for the Shrub. Similarly, Oz is largely a socially conservative country. There is a strong commitment to the family, preservation of moral principles, and a little unease with alternate lifestyles among the natives, especially outside of the cities. Quite similar to what you see in rural America. What's profoundly different, though, is that religion just isn't all that important there. I mean, don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of churches, synagogues, temples, and Sydney even has one of only seven Baha'i centers in the world. Regardless, the natives I spoke with were pretty consistent in saying that religion just doesn't play that big a role in the average Australian's life.

Another apparent departure from American conservatism is that there is a far greater commitment to the common good in Australia. Health coverage is universal, retirees are cared for, there is a minimum (living) wage, and public services are quite impressive. Schools operate year-round, and Australians typically get far more vacation time than Americans -- that's one reason they travel so much more than we do. There is an across-the-board 10% Goods & Services Tax that funds much of this, but again, there is much more of a commitment to the common good than to the chasing of money for money's sake. I, for one, appreciate the balance.