America: bad image, but ultimately the best show in town

Many of these traits are deplored in other countries such as Australia. We cut down the best and brightest instead of nurturing and encouraging them, we are innately risk adverse and want more to be popular than influential.

It is little wonder that while Australia is experiencing a brain drain, much of the world’s talent, whether it is in medical research, the social sciences or product engineering is making a beeline to the US.

If Australians had any sense, we should stop bitching about the Yanks and look beyond the images and learn from their spectacular success and excess.

Better still we should become US state number 51. That way we get power, influence, global relevance, bananas, and a recently separated Britney Spears. The Americans get to learn AFL - “wouldn’t we love to see that”.