UnAmerican Perspectives

In response to Sarah's question, the USA is in some ways better but in other ways worse.

It's hard to separate the state from the society, particularly when Americans (at least the ones I've met) are so well informed about their political history. But it seems to me that the state is geared towards being one of the most fair and accountable systems possible. This is particularly impressive given that the USA was the first republic of the modern era. I do admire things like having the three branches of government separate. But I don't like the way that this in fact concentrates so much power in the hands of the president.

I like that the courts are able to make such strong decisions in their interpretations of the law. The fact that circuit judges are elected still boggles my mind but I guess that's more democratic. I don't like the fact that the supreme court appointments are so politicised.

I like the congressional system about the same as parliament, that is to say that it would be made better with proportional representation to help break the dominance of the two main parties. (In this way congress is much worse than the Australian federal parliament.) I'm intrigued but undecided about the whole "registering as" process for elections. It could certainly help get voters thinking about issues if they are asked which party they identify with and this sense of identification could certainly help boost participation in the electoral process. (In Australia, where people have to go out of their way to join a party, membership is incredibly low and it's very hard to find volunteers to help in campaigning.)

Any non-Australians reading this will probably be surprised to hear that I think that voting should be compulsory. I don't think that this is a radical position, simply because I grew up with it. But I really do believe that it is a civic duty to vote. I was appalled to hear that the last presidential election was a record high, getting over 50% voter turnout. Likewise, I think preferential (instant run-off) voting is fairer, so that people who prefer minor parties aren't throwing their vote away. Without these two things most governments don't get true mandates. Getting 40% of the votes from a 40% turnout is not a mandate!

Now, what Sarah is waiting to hear -- religion. Separation of church and state is a terrific idea and Australia should adopt it. Yet I can't help but notice a small irony: Despite having an official separation, Americans are, on the whole, very religious. On arriving, I immediately noticed an excessive number of churches in my small rural town but more disturbing is "God Bless America" and "In God we Trust" all over official government stuff. This seemed to be flouting the separation but one of my professors explained that that's about government founding a single church and that "Ceremonial Deism" was deemed acceptable. The other side of the irony is that, in Australia, where the government allows scripture classes in public schools and even partly funds parochial private school, the people themselves are not nearly as religious. And, on the whole, religious Australians are far more moderate and accepting. Gay rights has a long way to go in Australia, as in most countries, but there's never been church groups picketting the funerals of AIDS victims. Protests outside abortion clinics are small and sedate. Creationism was unheard of until about 3 or 4 years ago when some American groups started exporting DVDs.

I will have much more to say about creationism in a couple of months because next semester I will be teaching a class called "Evolution, Religion and Society" and I am assured that there's always a couple of creationists. I'm not sure how it will go but I'm reminded of one of my professors when I was an undergrad in Sydney. He was American and in the class on the history of evolution, when he got the the short bit on neo-creationism he said, "This is why I like teaching in Australia, I know none of you are creationists who will want to challenge any of this."