Compare and contrast

Australian culture “defined“:

“Almost 50 per cent of people believe getting drunk occasionally is part of being Australian, a survey suggests.

The study of more than 1500 Australians, by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, found one in 10 reported having a problem with alcohol at some point in their lives. Three in five said they knew a friend or family member who had experienced an alcohol problem.

Germany, on the other hand – with its own myriad of problems, to be sure – recently hosted the annual Frankfurt book fair, the largest in the world:

“The other pleasant discovery was the real seriousness with which the German media treat the fair. Almost every radio network in the country (they are state-based there) had a huge outside-broadcast van parked near one of the five huge exhibition halls; television interviews with authors, critics and publishers seemed to run non-stop; the newspapers treat it thoroughly.”

Hard to imagine in Australia. After all, why celebrate an “elite” artform, when you can grab a beer or ten?

Australia’s cultural immaturity lives on.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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