Why are Australians so proud of their nation?

Question

I can see why Americans are -
America is a superpower.
America is the richest nation.
America is the strongest nation.
America is the most technological nation, after Japan.
America is the beacon of freedom.
Most international companies are American - Walmart, Kmart, Microsoft, just to name a few.
America has invented the plane, car, TV, radio, computer, internet, almost everything we use in our everyday lives.
But why are Australians proud of their nation? What have they contributed to the world besides Steve Irwin (May he rest in peace)? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to offend anyone here but I'm just curious. That's all.

SORRY, but I don't want Americans answering this question.
I want Australians to answer it. I want to understand their nation from their perspective

Australia is NOT a western nation. It's an oceanic nation.
America and Canada are western nations.

Answer 1

wow why dont people do short answers..aussie is good becouse i dont know anythink else,oh and living in sydney is like a mini united nations anyway,can i migrate to your place,,,,,,,,,,,,

Answer 2

Being an american myself but also an australian citizen, I feel I can take a stab at this one.

America is a superpower - can't argue with that one
America is the richest nation - take a look at dubai, much higher per capita wealth than the US. Lower poverty too.
America is the strongest nation - take a look at china. Their military amounts to a significant proportion of the entire US population and they have an economic juggernaut to back it up.
America is the most technological nation - eh, who cares
America is the beacon of freedom - WRONG!!!! Beacon of oppression and imposing it's will upon other nations with no heed for other's rights or sovreignty.
Next point - true, doesn't make it good. You now are not the largest producers of any of these things.

We are proud of our nation because of the beauty that is here. The incredibly low crime rate, unlike our American brothers. We don't have any random person walking along the street carrying a gun.

It's peaceful here and generally we are a welcoming people. We have good values like looking after your mates and backing them up (thank god for this one otherwise the US wouldn't have had the Australian SAS pull their units out of the firing line time after time).

If you aren't trying to offend anyone, my suggestion would not be to start off with a whole bunch of half truths about how good America is. Your question was not "Why are Australians so proud of their nation when it clearly isn't as good as mine?" it was simply "Why are we so proud?".

I might ask the same question. Why are you proud of supporting a government with one of the worst human rights records. Guantanamo Bay anyone? God forbid I get out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my head to dry my hair, might get sent to the Bay.

My suggestion would be to go visit Australia, you will find out why so many come and don't want to leave. Get out of your amazingly blinkered and parochial mindset and have a look at the world as it is, rather than as you think it is.

Answer 3

To begin with, maybe you should look at the nation facts: they're a well-educated nation (99 % literacy rate), healthy, their life expectancy is past 80, which is more than we can say about that, Sidney it an awesomely fun city, and their coral beaches are legendary. Economically speaking, Australia is well up there with the 4 most wealthy countries in the West, so I'd say they have plenty of reasons to be proud of their country.......except for the fact that the rest of the world calls them Aussies.

Answer 4

Well I can see that whether you meant to or not you have managed to offend some people. Where I think you may have gone wrong in the way you have worded this question which seems to suggest that the USA is the only country to have offered something to the world. You have stated that America is a superpower and the strongest nation but have you asked if they have this status based on what they have done on their own or is it because they have the backing of both the UK and Australia. Richness can be measured not only by wealth but by lifestyle among other things and one can argue that Australia has one of the better lifestyles on offer. Of course the US is going to be among the top technological nations and have the most international companies but that is because it also has a huge population which means that there are more resources to draw from and it has existed longer than Australia. In terms of being a Western Nation you are looking at this from a geographical view point where being a Western Nation or Western World is can have multiple meanings depending on its context. The term "Western world" is often interchangeable with the term First World stressing the difference between First World and the Third World or developing countries. What has Australia contributed to the world - well one area that springs to mind is in the field of medicine where we have scientists who have discovered many vaccines and we quite often collaborates or works with other countries on similar things.

The focus on why we are proud of our nation is measured differently to yours in that we are proud of our lifestyle, our health system for all Australia's (not just those who have insurance) is better, our overall ability to get along with people from all backgrounds seems to be more tolerant, we seem to be more accepting of the differences between people, our education system seems to teach us more about the world outside of our country than what I have experienced from those educated in the US. We are also a very proud sporting nation. Be proud of your nation as we are of ours even though the focus may be different. I also enjoy my regular trips to the USA as it gives me the opportunity to appreciate what is on offer there that is different from what is normal for me.

Answer 5

Ok, you may not have meant to offend anyone although I have to doubt that, however maybe you should have done a bit of research!! I am a very proud Aussie, and above all the things I actively dislike about some Americans is your overbearing arrogance! You certainly arent a beacon of freedom to me mate! We have a nation full of beauty, massive mineral deposits(including a fair percentage of the worlds gold and diamonds), fantastic beaches, oh, and in case I forget to mention it later, FRIENDLY happy people. Our health system is free to pretty much everyone. Our air is cleaner. Shall I go on? I could list all of our record holding swimmers and sports people, or Andy Thomas who is a NASA astronaut, I could even point out to you that the ploughs that your farmers use were designed here. But if you really think USA is that great then Id rather encourage you to stay there, lets face it we dont really need you here! By the way Nicole Kidman is one of ours too!

Answer 6

why wouldn't they be, I have never heard an Aussi talk as much crap as you do, that makes them sympathic and you arrogant

just by the way maybe you should check your ressources neither TV nor Radio were invented by the US (your country is not America, remember there are other nations on that continent, but what should we expect of someone like you)

It's the fault of people like you that the world looses respect of your country

I would like to ask you what did you contribute to the world and gives you the right to be proud - just wondering

but let me assure you: I honestly feel sorry for you I know education is limited

Answer 7

Not trying to offend? Yeah right.

America also has a massive prison population, way out of proportion to other WESTERN countries.....and yes you know what I mean by Western, so stop trying to be clever.

You are a hugely mis-informed bigot. I won`t waste key strokes telling you why Australia is great.

Answer 8

because we're Aussie and don't have over inflated ego's like Americans who are blinded by the light shining out there asses. what has America done lately to be proud of?
Australia doesn't have as many wankers in it as the U.S and I'm proud of that.

Answer 9

because we have very few americans here!


and while blowing your yank horn why dont you add
86% of the worlds serial killers
194 million registered guns - and 70,000 gun related deaths a year
the only country to NUKE another
3 million diagnosed mental disorders
80,000 registered sex offenders in cali alone
a fetish for school yard hostage situations
Paris Hilton
a constitution that protects nutters like the KKK
The lowest educated military force
the lowest educated school aged students on a world curve
no free medical system
300 million people piled in to a country that fits inside OZ
Bush
a country that claims they are fighting for every ones freedom, when in reality they only support a country they can financially benefit from
2nd last in the world at accepting evolutionary proof (last is turkey)
the only country with planes landing in their buildings.
etc etc

some one suggested you should visit OZ....please dont we f*cking hate sherman tanks only time that its good to see you's is when you're getting your nose pulled in our pubs.

Answer 10

Because like the US they started with nothing not to long ago and have built something wonderful. I've only been there for 3 weeks but I loved it. When I get back from deployment I'm taking another trip there. It's going to be my welcome back present to me.