I like the last line:
"It's about believing that the stories and experiences of people in this country are worth being told."
And then Rachael Hills pulled the other leg stretched down into the harbour from the ship and yanked up a billy of tea. Boston Harbour was full of it. The Yank said "Now let's hear an Australian story and she said: "Well they have stopped fishing in the Parramatta River."
"Hey you Aussies arer just copying us. I suppose you drink coffee over there in the 'matter'.

Change “Australian self-deprecation” for Australian shame or self-hatred. The states in control of the education systems are all of the left-wing PC variety and they, with the help of their academic fellow travellers, have encouraged the ‘Australia has no history, black armband, ashamed to be Australian bleating that the media and letters to the editor are flooded with. To be fair, the Federal Government these idiots regard as conservative is not all that much better.

National pride is a dirty thing in Australia. Perhaps Americans do sometimes go over the top with their national pride, but that is no excuse for our often-appalling attitude to our own country.

Since the enforcement of multiculturalism, the cowardly lickspittles have become more ardent in their dislike for their own country and culture by banning children’s simple pleasures and attacking Christmas because they might upset Muslims or hyphenated Australian’s with dual citizenship.

The author’s comments on the insularity of many Americans are correct: that’s America’s loss. But the fact remains that Americans love their country while Australians are too busy loving other people’s countries and, in doing so, are encouraging foreigners and immigrants to feel contempt for Australians, as well as their country.

British backpackers mistaking our flag for the Union Jack? What rubbish.

“What's inspiring about US patriotism isn't the blind love of country, but the commitment to shared values and dreams: a commitment which sometimes involves challenging your country to live up to those values and dreams.”

Spot on. But America has handled immigration much better than we have, and with the exception of you-know-who, their immigrants have been expected to, and have, accepted shared values and dreams.

Politicians, the leftish academics and the 'ethnic' industry have deliberately discouraged that process in Australia, and their can never be any shared dreams and values among the resulting disparate tribes that now live here.

Leigh

Your "But America has handled immigration much better than we have, and with the exception of you-know-who, their immigrants have been expected to, and have, accepted shared values and dreams. " statement puzzles me.

Do you consider 20 million "illegal aliens" (about the population of Australia) who are entitled to no support from Govt. are employed as "slave labour" and drive US wages down to a minimum of $5 an hour. Good immigration policy?

America was created as a result of war that is why they are into flag waving and patriotism, we on the other hand only have the Eureka Stockade as our attempt at revolution, the workers against unfair government and corrupt institutions - see any relevance today?

LEIGH,
"But America has handled immigration much better than we have, and with the exception of you-know-who, their immigrants have been expected to, and have, accepted shared values and dreams."

1.whom might you be referring to when you say "with the exception of you-know-who"?

2.Have you ever lived in or visited America?

3.Have you ever lived in or visited the Middle East?

Having read much of your ill-informed xenophobia in this forum Im guessing that the answers to these questions are:
1.Muslims
2.No
3.No
....How did i do?
Leigh i wish you a speedy recovery from your "Australian shame or self-hatred"...though perhaps in your case its not completely without foundation.
God forbid Australians should ever 'aspire to' the shameless, blind,self-aggrandising arrogance and hubris of American 'patriotism'.

"There's nothing in Australia" is more a display of ignorance than anything else. Australia has over 200 years of white history and thousands of years' indiginous history. How much is enough?

America's 'shared values' are currently tax cuts for the wealthy, limiting access to abortion facilities, and the reduction of complex issues problems into natty one-liners.

Pride is fine, until it leads to hubris.

Good Point Doom,

It seems Leigh hates Australia the most because its supposedly full of pinkos and Muslims, he's so dillusional.

Patriotism sux, I love the earth, I'm proud of many people from this country, past and present, and I'm ashamed of others, the same can probably be said for every other country in the world.

The world has been become much smaller, nationalism may one day become out-dated, I beleive it would be better if people pledged their allegiance to humanity and to the well being of the planet.