How Others See Us

Since arriving in Australia, I have had some very interesting discussions with my peers about how Australians view Americans.

My first chat was with my friend Tom from one of my politics classes, who is from Sydney. His major statement about Americans is that they are "know-it-alls who really don't know anything at all." To explain this more to me, he discussed American politics. He said that he thinks it is ridiculous that some Americans claim to live in the best country on the planet, without really knowing anything substantial about its history or political system. He said that he developed this view here at JCU, because some of the American students in the past were not able to speak sophisticatedly about their nation, but claimed that it was the best. In my classes here, I notice that the Australian students are not only extremely informed about and engaged with their own political system (which could be a result of compulsory voting laws in Australia), but also know a tremendous amount about the American political system. Some of my peers in the U.S. do not know nearly as much about America as some of the students here do. Because I stay informed about American politics and do not claim to know everything about America, Tom did not think that I fit his perception of typical Americans. Tom remains hopeful that his view of Americans will change and that American students will soon realize the importance of being engaged in what happens in their country.

The second person I talked to is my friend Shags from Darwin, Australia. Reflective of similar views as those held by Tom, Shags said that she views Americas as being "all about themselves." The main reasoning for her thinking is that she thinks that some Americans are so ethnocentric that they forget about Australia's place in history completely. The example she brought up was World War II. She said that she could bet that a majority of American students do not know that Australia was an ally of the U.S. in World War II. Because of American popular culture, and the way that war history is taught in the U.S., she said that the U.S. is immediately considered the hero, without much thought being given to the contribution by Australia. She said that she thinks that this is because "Americans are obsessed with all things American and that's it." She hopes that eventually, Americans will learn to stop trying to put their nation on a pedestal and instead recognize the contributions of all nations equally. She said that because I am actively trying to learn more about the role of Australia in history, I am working to help change her view of Americans.

The third person I talked to was my friend Cara, who took a different approach to my questions. She has a different background than Tom and Shags, as she was born in Scotland, and lived in New Zealand before moving to Adelaide, Australia when she was eight. When I asked her what she thinks of Americans, she said that she was "unable to form a stereotypical view of Americans because America is so diverse." Her main view of America is that it is too large and too diverse to create just one stereotypical American. She said she really has not noticed any major difference between Australians and Americans, other than the accent. I asked her to tell me the first thought that came to mind when I said American and other than "diverse," she said "American football." Here, American football is not played, but other sports like cricket and rugby are very popular. She said that this view comes from the American emphasis on the Super Bowl and NFL teams.

An "American" store downtown, complete with NFL paraphanelia 

All-in-all, I am so glad I had the opportunity to talk to my Australian peers about these issues, and I will be more cautious about how I present myself as an American.