the greatest

some time ago I was catching the number six tram and two American tourist women wanted to know where Lygon Street was. They were on holidays and their highlight of choice was the Australian Open. The conversation turned to the local area.

"We really love your country."

now I have no great recollection what was going on at that moment in time; I think it was September 11th and the Iraq war, but in my best Australian vernacular, I responded - 

"No worries, It's the greatest country in the world"

and I got a blunt reply in the form of no it's not. But even then I raised a number of concerns as to why the United States was such a mess, but the kicker that always shuts them up is the imperial measurement system. If you bring up that they fought a war for independence yet they still maintain such an outdated form of measurement. Plus there are those kooky fractions on the stock market based on who knows what. They never have a reply but they sure do look pissed off when you mention it.

part of me thinks what responses I could give to them now. All I can think of is to what degree the place is the very opposite of united. So polarized and intensely divided. Politics, across the board has been reduced to a war of character assassination. What I would give to actually know some semblance of a platform or a policy from either side

then there are the divisions that have resulted in outright violence, from anti fascists, black lives matter to the ultra right. Pro abortion, anti abortion, pro gun and anti gun. Maybe the strangest phenomenon is bad hyperbole as policy. I watched an interview with Trump before his recent political aspirations with David Letterman. He made the blanket statement that nobody knows more about this than I do (whatever it was I don't remember) and when pressed to elaborate he simply repeated the blanket statement. Little did I know that such an approach was to become a vocational style.

on the other side and in the spirit of objectivity Biden comes across as formulaic and towing a party line that we know nothing about but moreover he comes across as someone who is about to die. He reminds me of a relative weeks before they had a seizure. I can't help but think the way I feel. This isn't a political criticism; he actually reminds of someone before they died. No, really.

there is not so much a lot of fake news but lazy news. Biases without a great deal of substance, little more than gossip as philosophy. To be fair it is a phenomenon that has spread like a plague all over the world. There was a great film on the television the other night about the investigative division of the Boston Globe  - Spotlight. It's a film that is not so much something dear to my heart but dear to my sense of outrage. Based on the way news is spread right now, is that type of journalism and that model of reporting dead? Makes me think how the news would handle Julian Assange now if he was still operating. There was once the accusation that the New York Times were guilty of bad citizenship. Help us all if that becomes a crime. To add insult to injury there is the pay wall. Based on what quality? Remember the big marketing pitch about the internet and the information super highway? It has mutated into the internet super filter. Of lazy journalism.

finally there is the virus. Really too much to even begin to mention there.Having said that it makes me think about there in relation to here. We have had a severe lock down that has reduced cases but to what degree it has destroyed our economy we haven't begun to consider such an enormity. America is open for business but based on cases and deaths, at what cost? I like to think of these approaches as opportunity costs competing with each other, each with their own inherent bias. Could there be a balance between the two?

probably the one main thing that annoys me about Americans is their arrogant enthusiasm - almost defiant. That these women could disagree with me so bluntly - and vocally. Sure, I was asserting value but haven't they heard the term guest? I could only imagine what would happen if I behaved the same way in their country.