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Religion & Politics -- in US and Australia. Also, Cockney expressions

Reader comment on item: MEF's Surprising Straw Poll on Trump
in response to reader comment: response to "Politics, Religion, and HIstory

Submitted by Michael S (United States), May 1, 2016 at 12:09

Hi, Anne.

My head is spinning, trying to keep track of Australia's leaders.

I was 18-19 when I lived there; and I didn't get a good sampling of fair dinkum Aussies. One was a lippy bully, who used to stand around doing nothing while he taunted me for being lazy; another was a hard worker who drank his lunch at the pub; and when he read the inch-thick Sydney Morning Herald, he used to summarily throw the bulk away and just read the racing page. I lived in a boarding house of mostly Englishmen plus my two Scottish roommates, an Irishman and a New Zealander. We used to frequent the saloon bar, paying a cent more per drink, while the Aussies kept to the pub. Outside of my two workmates, the only Aussies I got to know on a daily basis were the cook/housekeeper, who was a good, friendly mum.

Aussie politics was as foreign to me then, as it is now. A list of Australian politicians convicted of crimes can be found at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_politicians_convicted_of_crimes

In the US, one's "dukes" are his fists. The origin can be found at:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/put-up-your-dukes.html

"The use of 'dukes' meaning 'hands' is first referred to in print in the mid 19th century, in both England and the USA. The American soldier Samuel E. Chamberlain used it in his memoir My Confession, Recollections of a Rogue, circa 1859:

" I landed a stinger on his "potatoe trap" with my left "duke," drawing the "Claret" and "sending him to grass.""

It comes from those doubly-derived Cockney rhymes:

"The most commonly repeated suggestion as to how 'dukes' came to mean 'fists' is that it derives from the Cockney rhyming slang - Duke of Yorks = forks = fingers/hands.

This is a rare instance, where an English cultural artifact made it to the US but not to Australia. Moving on, you said,

"Maybe think of me as a God-fearing atheist?

Ha ha ha :-) That's a good one. I'll trust a God-fearing atheist more than a paid Christian preacher any day. You went on,

"I guess by "religious" - in your (US) context - I'd be referring to people displaying at least some religious zeal as against attending church as a formality of decent citizenship. So a lot of those you mention might be a tad too rational for the category."

I grew up in a thickly Roman Catholic neighborhood. On average, there was a tavern on every street corner and a church every five blocks (My wife and I walked the neighborhood and counted them). Indeed, we went to church as a formality of "decent citizenship", as did some 80% of our neighbors. The church was only a few blocks away; but sometimes my parents were raising voices and arguing before we made it back to the house. I also "lapsed", just three weeks after landing in Australia; but a few years later, back in the US, I fell in with some genuine Christians who lived communally. We used to visit the community churches on Sundays; but to us, our religious practice was our everyday lives together. I haven't been "religious" since I was 18; but I do need to run now, so I can make it to church with my wife.

Shalom shalom :-)

Submitting....

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Reader comments (53) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
preferential voting [452 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Anne JulienneMay 1, 2016 00:56229192
writing in [57 words]Anne JulienneMay 1, 2016 18:10229192
America: Paperwork and Write-in Capital of the World [260 words]Michael SMay 4, 2016 10:47229192
tax returns [26 words]Anne JulienneMay 7, 2016 03:01229192
The Paper Tiger [90 words]Michael SMay 7, 2016 05:00229192
that does sound like a lot [51 words]Anne JulienneMay 9, 2016 02:07229192
Donald Trump, and The Tower of Paperwork [228 words]Michael SMay 13, 2016 02:46229192
I agree about the paperwork but not on who can save us ... [205 words]Anne JulienneMay 16, 2016 02:35229192
Interesting times ahead [341 words]Michael SMay 20, 2016 03:23229192
I wrote: a "saviour" *in this* [66 words]Anne JulienneMay 22, 2016 19:53229192
1This isn't about Trump; it's about national sovereignty [680 words]Michael SMay 23, 2016 11:00229192
enough with the logorrhoea [26 words]Anne JulienneMay 26, 2016 06:02229192
1I fear the Left more than I fear Trump [139 words]SteinApr 19, 2016 18:23229062
I am surprised [23 words]Tamar KupesteinApr 17, 2016 18:41228994
The wonderful migration [108 words]Michael SMay 22, 2016 11:02228994
1Any Terrorist attack wil help Trump and defeat Hillary [159 words]EdwardApr 12, 2016 13:07228918
No surprise [696 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Gideon RemezApr 12, 2016 12:45228916
Dr. Pipes, what's your opinion regarding Trump's recent statement regarding Syrian 'refugees', that there's plenty of room in Saudi Arabia? [198 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Anon.Apr 12, 2016 08:12228905
The Gingham Trump and the Calico Cruz [386 words]Michael SApr 11, 2016 15:33228886
Trump arouses passions [90 words]Kevin BjornsonApr 11, 2016 13:33228883
Libertarians [77 words]yonasonApr 13, 2016 15:18228883
1Libertarians for Trump [174 words]Kevin BjornsonApr 15, 2016 15:09228883
The Devil you know [52 words]Steven ShermanApr 11, 2016 11:13228881
1Everyone has an opinion [64 words]JohnApr 11, 2016 06:49228875
No permanent safety among the goiim [739 words]Michael SApr 10, 2016 23:12228868
I don't find the poll results surprising at all !! [40 words]CARLOS DESOUZAApr 10, 2016 22:06228867
1he gets about two-fifths of the Republican vote and close to zero of the Democratic one - IRONIC [11 words]MarkApr 10, 2016 18:04228861
1MEF's surprising poll on Donald Trump- response to Mark [189 words]Anne USAApr 12, 2016 12:43228861
I would only add that yes, Trump is essentially a Dem, but the Dems have moved left to socialism. [EOM] [20 words]MarkApr 15, 2016 07:54228861
Win Win Situation For The Left? [119 words]yonasonApr 19, 2016 12:09228861
1Mef's surprising poll on Donald Trump.... The Left has really picked the Republican nominee. response to Yonason [514 words]Anne USAApr 21, 2016 08:26228861
do you prefer the guillotine or the firing squad, monsieur? [301 words]doug schulek-millerApr 10, 2016 17:08228859
Left, Right, Religion, Trump and the Media [613 words]Michael S.Apr 15, 2016 10:37228859
not trusting any would be wise... [343 words]Doug Schulek-MillerApr 18, 2016 01:01228859
Are we better or worse than in 1963? Yes and yes. [827 words]Michael SApr 22, 2016 18:48228859
1Stop destroying the Republican Party NOW. [207 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Michael SApr 10, 2016 16:57228858
Trump, Hillary and the Angel Moroni [428 words]Michael SApr 12, 2016 04:55228858
Vehemently Anti-Democrat [225 words]yonasonApr 10, 2016 16:56228857
1The Missing (Two-part) Viewpoint [280 words]Ron ThompsonApr 10, 2016 16:36228856
A third way [431 words]Michael SApr 14, 2016 14:40228856
We do indeed live in divisive times .. [266 words]Anne JulienneApr 20, 2016 21:16228856
.. i like your god .. [15 words]Anne JulienneApr 21, 2016 03:35228856
God's gender [106 words]Michael SApr 23, 2016 03:42228856
Politics, Religion and History [1515 words]Michael SApr 24, 2016 01:54228856
no criticism (or feminist critique) intended [129 words]Anne JulienneApr 27, 2016 03:53228856
response to "Politics, Religion, and HIstory [376 words]Anne JulienneApr 27, 2016 06:14228856
Religion & Politics -- in US and Australia. Also, Cockney expressions [547 words]Michael SMay 1, 2016 12:09228856
3What's so surprising? [89 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Leon KushnerApr 10, 2016 16:01228852
Tweedle Trump, Tweedle Clinton and Tweedle Obama are apparently our lot in the coming years [901 words]Michael SApr 13, 2016 11:50228852
Your straw poll ... [33 words]TRMApr 10, 2016 16:00228851
Candidates of today leave a lot to be desired. [246 words]Anne.....USAApr 10, 2016 15:52228850
Clinton [64 words]steven LApr 10, 2016 15:41228848
1It isn't due to vehement anti-Hillary sentiments [96 words]Anon.Apr 10, 2016 14:09228846

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