Ralph Berg said:
Dave, You don’t refer to yourself as a “American Australian”, do you? From what I gathered from your previous posts, you have assimilated yourself in the Australian culture. If you were in Paris and someone asked where you were from…would you answer Australia? Ralph
That’s a terrific question. I can’t answer for Paris - never been there. When the question is asked in Australia, it’s invariably to confirm whether I’m American or Canadian. My accent has persisted over the decades. Nobody here has ever taken me for a home-grown Aussie. When the question is asked in the US, I’ve always been at pains to point out my dual nationality. I can recall only one person taking exception to that over many years of travelling between the two countries, and it took the form of “Why would anyone choose to live anywhere except the USA?” I asked the gentleman if he’d ever lived in, or visited, Australia. He said he hadn’t, and had no intention of doing so. That was the end of that. Ric’s comment that “We just don’t have enough people that have strong enough confictions to leave when they dislike how things are here” is a bit of a worry. If folks have strong convictions, hopefully they’ll stay and fight for those convictions. Good luck to them - that’s what democracy is all about. That said, if a bloke is convinced about the merits of polygamy, it’s also a bit of a worry. Any man who can’t see that two women will be at least three times as expensive as one needs a refresher course in simple arithmetic. However, HJ presents a valid argument re the possible benefits of a multiplier effect, so I may have to reconsider my position! Unfortunately, I will never be able to make an empirical judgment on HJ’s hypothesis. As Alec Guinness said in the first Star Wars movie, “I’m getting too old for this kind of thing.” Kay is Australian, born in Melbourne, raised in Perth. I’m sure she would have emigrated to the US if I’d pressed the issue, but it didn’t occur to me 30+ years ago. We both thought Perth was a great place to raise a family. We chose to live here because it was the best thing for us, not because I have any axe to grind with the US. I did raise the issue of emigration with my wife a few years back, when I was working in the US. However, the high cost of health care in the US compared to Oz was sufficient deterrent for both of us. Richard’s comment is interesting, and deserves a considered response: “I would never presume to immigrate to another country without being willing to give that country my top priority and to respect its traditions and institutions. That doesn’t mean I’d have to hate or disavow my country of origin but other than taking up temporary residence I feel I would owe my new country first loyalty or why move in the first place?” Richard, I think the operative terms in your comment are “top” and “first”. Moving between America and Australia over the decades, I’ve never felt the need to use either word. When in the US, I paid US taxes and voted in US elections - ditto in Oz. I try to stay informed about the political and economic affairs of both countries. America and Australia are such close allies that I find it well-nigh impossible to conceive of a situation where I’d have to choose one over the other. I can’t answer the question, “Why move here in the first place?” The best I can offer is a young man’s itch to explore. I sure do know why I stayed.
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