America as seen from Kiwi-land

The sky en fuego last week at sunset

Last night we talked with a Kiwi guy who teaches media ethics at some university here in NZ (does anyone teach this in America?). It has finally prompted us to write about something we can't help but think about regularly--the Kiwi view of America. First I would say that New Zealanders aren't all that different from Americans. Of course they talk different and use descriptors like "wee" and "bloody" (our favorite is "bloody Americans", what we are sometimes called at work and what we believe to be a term of endearment. Our other name is the Americanos). And they drive on the other side of the road. But never, ever confuse them for Australians.

Kiwis, like much of the rest of the world I suppose, are inundated with American culture...pop culture, corporate culture, fast food culture. Thankfully, though, it still feels different enough here that it isn't just like America. In any case, Kiwis have really no choice but to notice America, for as a coworker explained to me when I apologized for my ignorance about NZ--America relations (he was still bitter about US trade embargos after NZ declared itself anti-nuke during the Regan admin.), America's politics and economy exert so much influence on NZ and the rest of the world. Of course I know this, but I feel like I have come to understand it so much more in these past few months. And most Kiwis really do pay attention to it all, probably more than the average American, enough that you would think they could vote in our presidential elections. Part of this is that they are also much more serious political animals than Americans in general. As one might expect, there is little respect for our current leadership. One time back on the North Island we pulled into a campground and this really friendly guy came out to greet us and help us find a spot. He asked us where we were from and when we replied his eyes squinted and through a smirk he grumbled "George Bush"...we were able to smooth things out. We get many comments on our president...they don't understand how he was elected, and are even more puzzled about how he was re-elected. The corruption and conspiracies are so obvious to them. Yet people are rarely condescending about this, just respectfully puzzled.

Understandably, from newspapers and conversations we hear or overhear, Kiwis seem to be worried that NZ will become more and more like America. They are particularly alarmed about increasing violence rates and corporate and political corruption. These are things they associate with America. They laugh about frivolous American lawsuits, which fortunately their laws protect them from...yes, in NZ, YOU are responsible for your actions. At the same time, though, some of the folks we talk to are envious of cheap American fuel prices, and being able to save money because we pay much lower taxes. The guy we talked to last night told us how lucky we were to have something as rock solid as our Constitution.

Almost every day there are constant reminders of America and that we are American. More than anything we think about all the wonderful things about home that we miss and have taken for granted. The other day Julie tried to convince a woman that America had much more to it than just processed cheese products and fast food joints, which were her only outstanding memories of her time there. A few weeks ago at work a guy said somthing like "man, your country has really turned to shit" in reference to some silly pop culture topic. This was light hearted enough, and all I could do was shake my head in tired frustration with my mouth full of food. But later on I thought about this remark and was at first sad and angry, then just overwhelmed by the America I know and love and wish could replace people's perceptions.