Backbencher

We had the opportunity to have a teleconference with Dr. Troy Whitford of Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, New South Whales. It was very considerate of him to do this since it was 5:00am over there for him to give us this presentation.
His presentation was titled Australia: A Short History of Mentalities. He started out by stating that it is a misinterpretation that Australian mentalities have a socialist ethos. Their history is about the rise of middle class values and ideas that emphasize materialism, entrepreneurialism, and self-reliance. Some key historical events that have shaped the country are as follows: the settlement and the colony as an open goal, the Eureka stockade, Federation, 'Australia Unlimited' of the 1920s, and the Post WWII era in which they took a lot of customs and pop-culture from Americans. I was surprised to find out that the Eureka Stockade was one of the only real rebellions that the country has had, and was very similar to our Boston Tea Party. I also learned that Australians view of home-ownership is a symbol of success to them, which strengthens the idea of materialism. In lecture, Dr. Whitford would regularly refer to groups as Leftist or extreme rights. I was a bit confused, so I was glad when one of our classmates asked if he could interpret what he meant by each. I found his conversation to be almost opposite of Manning's ideas, and also very humorous in a dry sense. I found it especially funny when Jason had asked what he thought about American Football, and he replied laughing that he doesn't understand why we take so many breaks. I agree. I would have liked to ask him what he thinks of Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin.