we're going wrong (*)

Via Webdiary, Lee Iococca, once CEO of Chrysler, delivers a finely crafted rant about what he sees is wrong with the USA.

I suspect many of us in Australia don't 'get' the US. We certainly may not be convinced by Manifest Destiny and I'm certainly one of the many who rail against the continuing Americanisation of our language and culture.

Offspring No 2 'gets' the US: she's seen the best and certainly the worst it has to offer, but having spent lots of time there she's at least in tune with how Americans see themselves.

But while a lot of unnecessary column and air space has been devoted in Australia to the current US presidential election process, we can't ignore the role that America still plays - at least for the present.

It'd be comforting to put all that's wrong down to the current Administration and no doubt, as Iococca illustrates, the President and Congress have really stuffed a lot of things up. But common sense tells you that the rot must have set in earlier.

And that's where we come in. What are the similar mistakes we've made that now result in such an infrastructure shortfall in Australia? Why are our health services failing more frequently? Why are we always looking over our shoulders while out and about lest someone king hit us?

All good questions, thank me for asking them, a bit of a dog's breakfast because I was eating dinner at the same time and now it's time for the airport.

(*) A song by Cream, if you didn't know.