Elections

[alicambs]

Are now over thankfully! Politics, dirty and otherwise, has filled our TV screens here in New Zealand in the lead up to the general election for over a month now. After all the kerfuffle we've ended up with the incumbents re-elected for a third term on a slightly bigger majority

Comments

[byslantedlight]

I wonder if other people tend to have a clearer picture of what a particular nationality is than we do ourselves? So it's not that there's any real question of what it means to be English, unless you're actually English? I mean, if you asked a Scot what it means to be Scottish, I wonder what they'd say? Or a New Zealander, or Australian, even? I once asked an American to describe exactly what it was that she'd die for, when she said that she'd die for her country, and she absolutely floundered, she couldn't say at all. We eventually teased it down to the ability to buy cheap trainers and have a good lifestyle and she was perfectly happy to add and if we exploit you to get it, then it's your own fault for letting yourself be exploited. But I don't think that was really really what she meant when she said it... So I wonder, too, if being nationalistic is necessarily the same as knowing what it means to be from one particular country as opposed to another... /meandering. *g* You know, it's your own fault for asking interesting questions... *g*

[alicambs]

Ha!

Well... I don't think I'd die for my country. I might die for a belief and I'd certainly die for my kids, but my country... no that's just too woolly.

I'm English and after the Scottish vote I'm even more likely now to say I'm English rather than British, cos the Scots got up my nose something chronic with their anti English rhetoric. But as to Nationalistic, no, possibly because the history of English Nationalism tends to be right wing and rather nasty. Then if you ask me what is is to be English I'd probably turn that round and ask you what you think it means as an Aussie having lived in England for oinks. :-)

Now, when are you settling down, I have a 'Welcome to your New Abode' card to write!

[byslantedlight]

Going to see another place today - cross fingers. Only thing is, internet is via a dongle, apparently (just as I'd got used to the superfast broadband here...).

And ha - I'm not entirely sure what I am, because I feel more at home in England than Australia, and always have - and it's so long since I've been there that my ideas about being an Aussie are probably outdated anyway. I'm always surprised that they seem to have tighter regulations about alot of things - and on the other hand they seem to be a much more socially aware country in some ways. But then that doesn't gel with advertised attitudes to refugees etc, so I'm a bit lost about what it means to be Australian these days! My HSC (A-level equivalent) history course was actually Australian history connected to nationalism - not in a BNP kind of way, but as Australian identity. Interesting that there was a school course in it, come to think of it - but it was rather connected with Australia's relationship with Britain, and becoming an independent country. Which brings us back to Scotland again. *g*

Bugger, I really need to go and do some work, and the subject there isn't half as interesting as this!

[luesietjuh]

*Said kid bounces in*

[alicambs]

So you do occasionally read the oldie social media. Right, well just don't do anything that requires me to die for you, sunshine. :-)

[luesietjuh]

I am always poking around somewhere...

I will very much try my best! :-)