Noticed the hysteria surrounding Australia Day, the number of Southern Cross tattoos, and the patriotic fervour with the Union Jack Australian Flag?
Is there something behind this or is there simply a healthy groundswell of patriotism and nationalism amongst the people on the street?
Not sure that I am entirely comfortable walking past bare chested youths with flags draped over their tattooed backs drinking VB.
Am I alone?

I believe the Southern Cross as a tattoo is quite acceptable and in fact I like it. I think that the Australian Flag positioned on letter boxes, on cars and if you have a flag pole then raised on one of those is quite acceptable. An Aussie flag on a pole is also IMHO a nice symbol of one's love for our wonderful country BUT for the youth of Australia to drape the flag over their shoulders while bare chested and drinking alcohol and looking menacingly at anyone who dare even glance at them, to me is a defilement of our flag and should be banned.
Yes, we should be proud to call Australia home but lets not take it to the level where we are overly fervent like the USA or racially prejudiced like many people in many countries. I remember 40+ years ago at School assembly on a Monday we sang the National Anthem and the Australian Flag was raised while we sang. I am not sure if this still happens but it instilled in my generation Pride for our Country. Not Fervor or over zealousness or sheer bloody-mindedness. I was raised in a town that had a Prisoner of War Camp, a Migrant Camp and an Aboriginal Mission. Maybe this taught me how to be tolerant toward different cultures but my upbringing is also greatly the reason because my parents do/did not have a racist drop of blood in their bodies. I believe our National Pride is a wonderful thing but the 'extremists' could ruin it.  

It is a powerful feeling isn't it, this idea of "Australianess".

I remember at a first year marketing class we were asked to define "Australianess" and the lecturer was stopped dead in her tracks because no-one had a definitive answer.  For sure we can nominate brands and products and events, but the actual idea of Australianess was alien to us all, and I think it was something along those lines (ie of being Alien) that we all agreed to.

As an immigrants child (Irish Father and Swedish Mother) I struggle with the idea of a closed Australian identity and it is always a curiosity of my family - to define exactly where we sort of are.
Love the discussion.
BTW, my daughter is Isla, and at school they sometimes tag her goods as Isla M - and I noticed it can be read as Isla m or Islam.  How remarkable!
Lets keep this thread alive!

This is what john howard wanted!!Nationalism to dumb down the country and for the masses to follow pointless, meaningless agendas so they would become oblivious to the real agendas afoot!!

The more I see happening around the world...the prouder I am to call myself an Australian......be it my adopted country.

Quoted from Largegray

This is what john howard wanted!!Nationalism to dumb down the country and for the masses to follow pointless, meaningless agendas so they would become oblivious to the real agendas afoot!!

Is their something wrong with taking pride in our country?

Nothing wrong with that mate!

http://player.video.news.com.au/news/?fkbG87K_Am609tMkXVhspqBrf9WerfwX

Nationalism is an agenda aqua monkey and if you fail to realize that or you condone the thuggery or bigotry that usually comes along with it, then you are seriously misguided. There is nothing wrong with being proud of the country you live in but nationalism is a political tool that mostly results in the alienation and discrimination of minorities...Just look at Russia where over the last decade a massive rise in government driven nationalism has resulted in the bashings and murders of 100s if not thousands of non slavic minorities, by skin head gangs and other thugs who hate non russians because of the ignorance and bigotry driven by the nationalistic agenda. Russia is but one example of the hatred that is caused by the rise of nationalism