As you know no-one could accuse me of being obsessed with number-plates, but I noticed today that many Aussie car number-plates have inspirational messages about the state they are registered in.
One of them reads "Victoria - the place to be."
I would argue that should read "Victoria - one of the places to be." or possibly "Victoria -one of the many places on planet earth that fulfils all necessary conditions for supporting human life."
But the Australians are unsurprisingly very proud of their country. It is a rather chaming patriotism, unlike the more jingoistic and racist English version. I've noticed that whenever an Australian appears in a foreign TV programme, the trails for the show will proudly boast, "starring Australia's Hugh Jackman " (or whoever it is). It reminds me of something a local paper from a small town in England would say, rather than a national TV station.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Quite the opposite. I think it's great that the Australians are proud of the citizens that have been successful. It would be great if the UK showed equal support for its own people.
And it's not show-offy in an American way. It seems to be a statement of both pride and humility. There is almost an element of surprise that someone from the little town of Australia has done so well in the big world.
Which is again a good thing. None of the British "so what?", none of the American "of course". Instead an Australian "Isn't it great? That's quite an achievement. And he or she is one of us."
I truly love it.
As the crowd at the Aussie Rules Football match showed, the pride in the country or the state or the town or the team is not fuelled by hatred or excessive competition. The car number-plates are just stating pride in Victoria. The fact that the message is on a car number-plate shows that they aren't really crowing about it.
Maybe they just didn't have room to write "Victoria - the place to be...if that's where your house and stuff is."
