I have such odd views for a WASP

I really don't know why everyone gave Australia such a bad time. I liked it. Really liked it.
Granted it started out really cheesey and it had a false ending in the middle (I actually got up, preparing to turn the TV off 45 min before the actual end. whoops) but overall it was really good.
I thought the scene where the cattle were stampeding toward the cliff was the most powerful. The way they captured the little boy just standing there so bravely, taking on a thousand stampeding bulls... and then the way he started crying as soon as it was over. It reminded me of the quote "What’s the difference between a hero and a coward? Both are ordinary people, both are scared, and both are running. But the hero is running in the right direction." (The Calling, emphasis mine) Or standing, as the case may be.
I also loved Lady Ashley staring down the racist society people when she was trying to adopt the little boy and they told her she couldn't because society dictated he needed to be sent away to "have the black bred out of him." She so simply stated "Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be" but that simple statement was so great. Too many people want to stick to the status quo. It's infuriating.
And then, my favorite humorous scene was when the pastor was pleading with the boat captian to take him to the island where the children were stuck. The captain says it's impossible, the pastor says "I have the Lord on my side", Drover nails the captain right in the head and says "The Lord works in mysterious ways."
I loved that because I get so tired of people nit picking through the Bible for the "cannots" and the "do nots." When it comes right down to it I follow the two greatest commandments "Love God, love people." There's no way to overanalyze those and if you're truely following them you can never be too far off from the right thing.
And besides, I'll take whatever punishment there is for clocking someone in the face if it saves 30 lives. I'm not perfect, after all.

But in the middle of the film I re-realized that I really need to live somewhere with less laws. If half the things that happened to Lady Ashley happened to me I'd be in jail. No one is going to stand there and threaten my child with bodily harm without getting punched in the face. No 10 year old is going to call another child racist epithets without a slap across the face. I don't care who's watching, I don't care who's kid it is. Teach your kid that if he wants to take such a stand he has to face the consequences.

I'm going to be called the principal's office over my children's behavior ever so often.
And if I'm not, I'm going to be sorely dissappointed in my children.