Your nationality, what does it mean?

How we identify ourselves is complicated and even regional differences come into play. In the east of Australia Queenslanders and Victorians tend to identify with their state very strongly. When people from New South Wales visit these states we are rather bemused by this parochial attitude. A great deal of teasing goes on about the relative value of the states. We get called Mexicans (south of the border) or cockroaches by the Queenslanders. I find this allegiance to a state perplexing. I identify as an Australian first and foremost and consider myself to be a Sydneysider because this is where I have grown up and I have lived here ever since. In NSW alone there is a huge difference between living in one of the coastal cities and a large town in the inland, let alone in one of the small isolated hamlets consisting of a pub, a petrol station and a one teacher school.

I'll let the other Aussies speak about what it is like to identify as a South Australian or a West Australian. Because of history and distance people in these states have mixed feelings about the older states of the east.

To me nationality is a puzzling concept. It is subtly different to citizenship and also to heritage but I can't exactly put my finger on where the difference lies. I think it goes to mindset. I felt this when I was travelling in US, Canada and UK. I came home thinking I am definitely different to all of these because I think differently about so many things but I found myself asking the question, "Just what is an Australian anyway?" In a nation with such a new and raw immigrant history this seems to be a moving target. IMO it involves love for the land itself. Early settlers saw the landscape as hostile and alien and tried to tame it, to turn it into another England. Later, native born people and some of the newcomers came to appreciate its wild beauty and to love it as it is. I'm one of these and I try to pass this love onto the children of immigrants, just as my father passed it on to me. I am committed to the protection of the land, its flora and fauna and the whole ecosystem because of my love of country.

Because I love my country I feel shame and sorrow when Australians do not behave with honour on the world stage. It is the reason why I condemn my government for our appallingly cruel asylum seeker policy. By government I include present and past governments. I want Australia to stand for decency and fairness in the world and am very disappointed when we fall short of these ideals.
 

It's just what we know...I was on a UK site once and mentioned my family's origins in Berwick Upon Tweed. Someone replied "Ah you're from the Low Country then?". Okay um if you say so, growing up here the low country is Louisiana, maybe South Carolina.
 
jujube said:
What a great idea! The Bostonians and the British could have just sloshed tea on each other. The North and the South could have pelted each other with benne wafers and hot dogs. The Israelis and the Arabs can sling chopped liver and falafel until they run out. I think that's a great idea for a restaurant. You come in, order the ethic food of your choice and throw it at someone you don't like.
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Yes! Getting creative now. Keep going jujube. You just may save the world! :thumbsup:
 

QuickSilver said:
The nationality/descent confusion, I would think, is more prevalent in the USA... since all of us, except the Native American, have roots in another country......or two or three or more. We ARE the melting pot after all.
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Very true.......heritage or descent wise we Americans could be just about anything.

My last name is very Jewish (I'm not) and my moms maiden name is very plainly of German origin.

As far back as I'm aware my dad, his dad, his dad etc. came from way up in the hills and mountains of Kentucky (picture moonshiners, Hatfield's & McCoy's, the movie Deliverance)............so I guess that makes me of Hillbilly descent.
 
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"Throw sausages!"

There is a restaurant well-known throughout the Midwest, located in Southeastern Missouri, it's claim to fame having developed through a long-standing tradition in which the server throws dinner rolls to the patron! imp
 
Nationality expresses itself in the things that warm our hearts and give us a warm feeling.

These two photos cause a resonance in me because they speak so evocatively of Australia. Even to a suburban girl like me.

This one shows a mob of sheep being driven down a country road.
If you drive around on some country roads you sometimes have to stop and allow the sheep or cattle to pass before moving on.

Australiana #1.JPG

This one shows a goanna (monitor lizard) looking for a drink from the bore on an outback property.
Goannas fascinate me. I've hand fed a wild one with a boiled egg when camping. It took it ever so politely.

Australiana #2.JPG
 
Underock1 said:
Throw sausages! :laugh: Did the Catholics throw fish? What a great idea! Instead of killing each other over religion, lets have a food fight! I'm picturing Charlie and Cromwell throwing food at each other. Think of all the misery that could be avoided. Another thing for me to like about Australians.
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It was a one off event.....probably pinched the snags set aside for dinner! No, no fish were thrown. Too many issues surrounding food fights.....is it halal? is it kosher?salt reduced? low fat? low GI? gluten free? no traces of peanuts?.......too complicated by far.
 
Warri, we came home from Uganda after two years and as much as I loved Uganda, I missed Scotland terribly. When we came home and stepdaughter and her hubby were driving us to their house for a few days we passed a field of sheep. I nearly broke into tears it was such a beautiful sight - the sheep, the mountains, the bright green. As much as I love a warm climate I could never move away from Scotland even with the less than ideal climate.
 
"Berwick Upon Tweed. Someone replied "Ah you're from the Low Country then?".

I'd say you're from "the Borders" - literally the S.E. of Scotland area bordering England, however historically Berwick had very strong trading links with "The low countries" ie The Netherlands, and maybe this was what they were referring to.
 
Ameriscot said:
Warri, we came home from Uganda after two years and as much as I loved Uganda, I missed Scotland terribly. When we came home and stepdaughter and her hubby were driving us to their house for a few days we passed a field of sheep. I nearly broke into tears it was such a beautiful sight - the sheep, the mountains, the bright green. As much as I love a warm climate I could never move away from Scotland even with the less than ideal climate.
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I felt the same way when we were coming in to touch down at Perth airport after 5 months away touring US, Canada, and UK. I could see a mosaic below us of eucalypts and jacarandas in full bloom and even though Perth is not my home, I knew that I was home again. Later, up in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, again at the airport, I saw a huge tree filled with galahs looking for all the world like exotic pink and grey tropical flowers and I was almost overwhelmed by a scene that could only occur in Australia. It was a magnificent moment, never to be forgotten.
 
My ancestry is German(Dad) and Italian(Mom). Growing up, I often heard my Mom use the phrase "Bullheaded German". When I spent 4+ years in Germany, I gained a far better understanding of what she was saying. Then, I married a German...and the past 50 years have been "interesting". Oh, well....keeps me on my toes.
 
Warrigal said:
I felt the same way when we were coming in to touch down at Perth airport after 5 months away touring US, Canada, and UK. I could see a mosaic below us of eucalypts and jacarandas in full bloom and even though Perth is not my home, I knew that I was home again. Later, up in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, again at the airport, I saw a huge tree filled with galahs looking for all the world like exotic pink and grey tropical flowers and I was almost overwhelmed by a scene that could only occur in Australia. It was a magnificent moment, never to be forgotten.
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No country I've been to is anything like Australia! It's unique!
 
Grumpy Ol' Man said:
Are we getting "nationality" confused with "heritage"? To me, most can trace their heritage to a specific country, race, cast of relatives, etc. OTOH, most of us identify with a nationality of either where we live or where we were born. I would think "nationality" is how we think of where "home" is and "heritage" as where we came from, genetically. I get frustrated, over here, when people identify their "nationality" as African-American, Mexican-American, Native American, Irish-American, etc., etc., etc. If they were born and raised in America... aren't they simply "American"?? OTOH, genetically, many could trace family or roots to another country and could well be deemed French-American as their heritage.

Somehow, we've convoluted "nationality" in an attempt to stand out as being different than our neighbors. Sorry, just one of my pet peeves.
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I agree. If you want to nit-pick, we are all something-American unless we are Native American. But in reality we are all just Americans. I believe my ancestors were English and Irish, with a mix of who knows what all else, but I'm just an American, as were my parents and grandparents.

Pet peeve of mine, too.
 
Butterfly said:
I agree. If you want to nit-pick, we are all something-American unless we are Native American. But in reality we are all just Americans. I believe my ancestors were English and Irish, with a mix of who knows what all else, but I'm just an American, as were my parents and grandparents.

Pet peeve of mine, too.
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American is your nationality. Heritage is a different matter. I am two nationalities by choice.
 
Warrigal said:
I felt the same way when we were coming in to touch down at Perth airport after 5 months away touring US, Canada, and UK. I could see a mosaic below us of eucalypts and jacarandas in full bloom and even though Perth is not my home, I knew that I was home again. Later, up in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, again at the airport, I saw a huge tree filled with galahs looking for all the world like exotic pink and grey tropical flowers and I was almost overwhelmed by a scene that could only occur in Australia. It was a magnificent moment, never to be forgotten.
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Whenever I fly into Sydney and see the bridge and those sails I feel like bursting into "I Still Call Australia Home". Best song ever......often brings me to tears.
 
Mitchezz, this is my computer background image. It lifts my spirits every time I fire up the laptop.

Circular quay.jpg

My high school was not far from here on Observatory Hill. Of course in those days the Opera House and Circular Quay railway station did not exist and neither did most any of the high rise buildings behind it.
 
Thanks Warrigal that's beautiful.

I also love sailing under the Coat Hanger...I'm going on a cruise next April and I love that feeling that you could just reach up and touch it.
 
I'm a real American...a true mutt....half my ancestors came over on the Mayflower, and the other half met them here. English, French, Scottish, Irish, Cherokee and Blackfoot.
 

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