My name is Elaine. I’m an American citizen by birth and a naturalized Australian citizen.
I went to university in the early ’80s, when acquisitiveness was celebrated, trade unions were thought of as farm teams for the Mafia, the Republican Party used dog-whistle racism to generate electoral support, and an avuncular president’s foreign policy gave people nightmares about nuclear war. When my spouse and I moved to London in 1992, we left George H.W. Bush’s United States for John Major’s United Kingdom. Two years after we arrived in Australia, John Howard’s conservative party won a landslide victory and remained in power for nearly twelve years.
I’m still an optimist. It may be an essential personality trait for those who want to change things.
I like stories, both true and made-up; music, animals, plants to a lesser extent (they’re not as responsive to affection and training), books as tactile artifacts, visual art, Australian Rules Football (especially women’s), and walking in both urban and wild environments. I like coastlines and love woodlands. Two jobs I’ve had that I might like to try again someday are journalism and teaching philosophy. I think satisfying work is essential to a flourishing life, for both individuals and their societies.