Once upon a time I travelled to the US of A and visited Los Angeles for a week. An interesting experience, especially when I drove from LA to the Arizona state line and was stopped by a State Trooper for speeding.

But apart from that, everyone I met was welcoming and everyone asked me if I was an Australian. Australian! Did I look like a Koala? Did I bounce when I walked, like a demented bald-headed Kangaroo?
“I’m English!” I proclaimed, but nobody seemed to care. Everyone had moved on to the next question, how did I like America.
“With my stomach!” I replied. The food was great and there was lots of it. But nobody cared, the conversation (conversation!) moved onto the next topic, what did I do for a living. It suddenly dawned on me, at that point, nobody wanted a conversation, they simply wanted to ask questions. They had never met an Australian, Englishman or whatever, so they took the opportunity to ask questions. The answers were mostly irrelevant too. All anyone wanted was the opportunity to be heard.

This experience gels with the current news of the Brexit, US Election, ISIS and the price we pay for ice-cream. Everyone has a view and wants to be heard, be it by word of mouth or from the barrel of a gun, but nobody is Interested in what you have to say. Nobody is interested in your opinion, all that matters is their own opinion.

Tom Kane (c) 2016