In recent years, mass media organisations in other Western countries have begun to make their daily offerings available over the internet. I have taken this opportunity to study first Canada, and then New Zealand, and now Australia. Learning another language is a big hurdle, and makes a deep assessment of other countries difficult, at first. My family has ties with Japan, and China. But I never have really explored those cultures as I might someday.

But it's stunning to me to see the different attitudes and perspectives on things that you find even in other english speaking countries. Now that I've studied a few other countries, I think of my nature as being very similar to New Zealand people. A lot of things in that society resonate with my own life, and my own perspective on things - from how I view children, to an appreciation of christian culture, to the attitude of working together with minority groups of folks. And I think it's really important that everybody finds their own people as they grow into adulthood. When I was a young man, the first town I moved to was a tourist/college town in the Rocky Mountains. And in later years, I moved back there, because the town tugged on my heartstrings. And now, I'm seeing an even better home for myself, perhaps, in Australasia.

Over the past several years, I've intently studied politics and society in the Usa. And these days it really irks me that academics in this country remain stuck within the narrative of the competition between the left wing and the right wing here in the Usa. The right wing in the Usa has had the seat of power forever. It's fascinating how that happens. It seems as if when the republicans get too far off the beam, members of their party defect to the democrats, but take their right wing ideology with them. And so, what happens, is that right wing ideology permeates both major political parties in Washington DC. And this means that there's really no chance for left wingers to ever succeed in winning the debate against the right wingers. To quote George Carlin: "The table is tilted, the game is rigged." And so one shouldn't spend all this time trying to change a country which is not going to change. It's better to vote with your feet. One thing I've seen as I've studied society and politics in other english-speaking nations, is that there really isn't ever any big ideological difference between members of the left wing party, and members of the right wing party. However, citizens of those countries imagine that there's a big difference, because dissidents are always trying to spark some changes of policies using the party that's out of power at the moment. It's tragic, though, that people don't know a way of seeing what's going on in the social and political dynamic of other countries. The real differences are between countries. New Zealand, for example, shows us a country where both the left wing and the right wing are what we, across the Pacific would call "progressive" parties. In Australia, the right wing party is the "Liberal Party," and the left wing party is "the Labour Party." Australasia really is governed primarily by the left wing. The left wing has a hegemony on politics, in the same way that the right wing has a corner on the market when it comes to government power in anglophone north america.

So, if you're a die-hard left-winger in north america... don't spend your life trying to fix the Usa. Move to Australasia, instead.

Or you might choose Canada. Canada is a country which really honours science, and it sees itself as a very rationalistic society. It has policies which we consider left-wing in the States - such as gay-marriage, and universal health care. However, in all honesty, these policies are tools in the hands of a society which wishes to remain very socially conservative. Canada's government policies keep order in the country. Whereas in the Usa, we believe in individuals deciding for themselves how to live their lives - and we trust that the consensus of all these individuals will create good communities and cities for us to live in.

One thing I have also seen - is that: As Canada is to the Usa - so New Zealand is to Australia. Canada is a dissident country. It guards against the problems it sees in the Usa, and so that contrariness kind of defines its national character. In the same manner, New Zealand is a dissident country - which wants to be different than Australia. There's a running joke about saints and sinners which relates to the history of how Australia started as a british prison colony - and New Zealand was founded by christian missionaries. In some sense, I think Canada and New Zealand don't always succeed as they would like to, only because they err on the side of idealism, rather than pragmatism.

Another thing I've seen is that there are a few serious problems that happen when left wing ideologies are employed in such a thorough way in a country.

• In New Zealand, for example... people don't sue. Left wingers in the Usa always shake their heads and sigh at the litigious nature of our society here. However, one sees problems in New Zealand where food safety and worker safety is not given the kind of fastiduous attention it is given in the States.

• Also, in New Zealand, small businesses don't seem to recognise the importance of seeking venture capital. I see stories in their television news of people starting small businesses which really won't be effective at profiting - but which are more done by a solitary person who had a little dream she or he wants to fulfill. For example, the other day there was a story of a guy who bought several brand new luxury sports cars, and is going to give people a chance to drive these things at high speeds on a private race track. That's all well and good - but it's not going to employ a lot of people... and it's not going to be effective at uplifting the economy in New Zealand. For some contrast, we can look at Tesla Motors and Aptera motors in the States. These companies have millions in venture capital, and are trying to reshape the auto industry altogether. Tesla is creating luxury electric cars which sell for $100,000 a piece. And Aptera is creating futuristic looking hyper-aerodynamic and efficient vehicles.