America: Land of contradictions

I recently read a short article in the IDS a few weeks ago regarding the acclimatization of a newly arrived IU undergraduate student from Australia. Most of the article dealt with the contrasts in weather.\nBeing recently arrived from Australia myself, I can sympathize with the grievances associated with the recent chilly weather in Bloomington.\nBut, my first impression of America was not something relating to weather. Instead, it was a surprising sense of déjà vu, even though I had never set foot in the country before.\nIn Australia, our television is dominated by programs from the U.S. -- similarly with films screened in our cinemas. When I arrived in America, there was a disturbing feeling that I had walked into a television set. Most things were totally foreign to my native Sydney sensibilities, but were, at the same time, unsettlingly familiar.\nMy second impression of America was of contradictions. It is one of the most technologically advanced and richest countries on the planet. However, there is a deep sense of tradition that runs through much of the society I had not expected. \nThere are automated supermarket check-outs and toilets that flush by themselves, drive-through banks, cars with keypads instead of door locks, seat belts that automatically strap you in when the ignition is switched on -- and I have even seen a semi-automated cash register that counts out a costumer's change without any assistance from the register's operator (that was in Los Angeles, mind you).\nYet many things seem to be out of an era long-passed. Take the local school bus for example. They seem to be based on a design that has its origins in the 1950s. A similar thing could be said for American traffic lights.\nIt is not simply appearances. On going to the local supermarket, I was surprised to find that I could buy a gun with my instant lasagna, yet the same store would refuse to sell me a bottle of wine with my pasta if I happened to be shopping on a Sunday. I was similarly perplexed when I discovered the existence of local "neighborhood action committees" It puzzled me to think that, on one hand, relative strangers could dictate the aesthetics of a person's property, but on the other hand, some Americans consider random breath testing as an infringement on their civil rights.\nThese examples may seem arbitrary, but to an outsider, the contradiction is striking.\nPerhaps this view is a consequence of my perspective. Australia was only "discovered" around 200 years ago. I say "discovered" because indigenous Australians lived on the continent well before the arrival of European explorers. Even after the first fleet arrived, British culture dominated much of Australia's history. What would be considered as uniquely Australian today has only really developed past the turn of last century. Perhaps I come from a society that is less traditional because of its relative youth?\nThe contradictions apparent in American culture are both fascinating and confusing. America is a country where freedom of speech is strongly defended but where political correctness is also strictly adhered too. Quite often it is difficult to find an American to express his or her true opinion on a subject. In Australia, we tend to speak our mind. We have an attitude against "beating about the bush." However, some of our more delicate visitors may regard us as uncouth as a consequence.\nAmerica is certainly the land of opportunity, but it is also a country of striking contradictions.