Leading up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and during that wonderful
event, Australians, especially Sydney-siders, were reported feeling
swept up by a rush of connectedness and relatedness among each other,
motivated by the knowledge that their internationally famous city, and
the country, were on show to the world.  The experience of being
involved in a joint enterprise (hosting the Olympics) galvanised what
people described as being an almost tribal sense of belonging.

Since 2000, it seems that sense of belonging, that spirit of shared
enterprise has waned, especially in Sydney where some people would say
the mood is best reflected in the attitude of drivers -- 'everyman for
himself and bugger the bloke in front of me..."

So Being Australian asks:

Are Australians growing apart?  How have you experienced
this personally?  What happened and what did it feel like?