Now when your election is hurting the brains of people from other countries, you need to ask why.
Today I saw articles on the German and Austrian responses to this US election, and compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, and if you have ever been to either of these places or spoken to people from either, you know that this is not a comparison people of either country would make lightly as it highlights a very dark time in their histories. Again this should lead to serious pondering.
So why is the US Election so important to the rest of us...
Well unless the Chinese have massive sudden off the charts economic growth before tomorrow, as goes America so goes the Western world. Though some of us may wish it otherwise America is the most powerful country and it continues to seek to live up to the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and to be the world's policeman (again no matter how some of us would want it otherwise).
If you are setting the tone of global politics, the least the rest of us can hope for is a rational, intelligent person in the role who does not just seek to uphold US values but also sees the power that their role has beyond their borders.
In an ideal world we hope the same as we do for our own leaders...We hope that this leader doesn't drag those of us in other parts of the world into unjustified wars (that said, there is unfortunately more precedent for this than I'd like from former US leaders). We hope that they understand the threat to the world that is climate change. We hope that they seek to uphold the weak and impoverished in their own country, and aboard. We hope for someone who will defend the rights of all people in their country regardless of gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. We hope for a well thought through and balanced approach to economic issues.
The ugliness of this particular US election campaign has already shown that this will not be the case if one of the candidates gets in.
A few years ago when the possibility of a Trump candidacy was first suggested, we in the rest of world hoped it was a joke and declared that there was no way the Republican Party would let him get the nomination. Then we were deeply confused when the joke became a reality, and increasingly feeling more depressed as it didn't go away (I know now that we've seen one on TV in House of Cards many people were hoping for a nomination from the floor at the RNC). The rhetoric that Trump bought to the campaign was by far the ugliest I have ever seen. The 3am tweets full of racism, sexism, and dangerous claims of rigged elections were only bizarre but not terrifying until such time as he was the nominee. The ironic dragging up of Bill Clinton's sexual history and assault allegations as if that were relevant to his wife's campaign* and as if it didn't just seek to highlight his own infidelities and his own assault allegations was both mean spirited and deeply foolishly, and after all he is the one running for the presidency and whereas Bill Clinton is not (he isn't allowed to run again after all). The declaration of ideas such as that climate change was the work of the Chinese (I'm not sure how that follows) and that Mexicans were rapists, the endorsements by the Klan, and the dismissing of sexual assault allegations based on his assessment of the woman's attractiveness proved again and again that he should not be put at the helm of any country, let alone the most powerful country on earth.
Now I know that many people will declare that Hillary Clinton isn't a perfect candidate either. I agree with you (personally I wanted Bernie Saunders to be the Democratic nominee) but this isn't a lesser of two evils argument. The reason that Hillary Clinton isn't perfect is in part because she is more qualified. Donald Trump has zero relevant experience- being real estate mogul or a reality TV star is nothing like working in politics or public service, and it cannot be seen as preparing anyone for the presidency except in that these roles have power and as does the presidency. Hillary Clinton on the other hand has been working in the public sector for years, and so we know about her failures and oversights in that area. I could list them as I did for some of Trump's but the fact of the matter is that unlike Trump's most of them (even the emails) did not occur whilst on the campaign trail and also unlike Trump's were largely investigated and cleared by the relevant agencies within the US government. Were there possibly other experienced candidates with less of these issues and questions? The answer is definitely yes. However the attacks on her that I have seen in the main stream media and on social media aren't normally rational explorations of the issues, they are flimsy claims about her "likeability" or her dress sense or that she is vaguely "corrupt" with no specifics or that she is too old (she is younger than Trump) or asking if she has the stamina (again Trump is older) or discussing how she is going to be "President Mom". When I look at these I'm not convinced because they sound vaguely familiar and it has nothing to with her eligibility to be president and hundred percentage to do with her gender. A few years ago, we had our first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, and there were some valid questions on things she did just as they would have been for a man in the same position, however the media and social media exploded with discussion of her dress sense and her martial status and then when she reversed an election promise (as all world leaders end up doing) there were the most heinously sexist rallies in major cities with being posters using the word "bitch" and others portraying her as witch and the coining of the horrid title "Ju-liar", and horror of horror a man who attended these rallies became PM a few years later at which point the country lost a little of its collective soul. There are countries in the world where women can run for the highest political office and this doesn't happen- many Scandinavian countries have had and currently have female leaders, and though I may not agree with her politics, Angela Merkel has been running Germany for over a decade. Whenever this kind of attack happens to female politicians, I just want to scream "ignore her gender and talk about the issues!!!!" as loudly as I can. Talk about the issues with Hillary Clinton by all means but talk about them just as you would the issues with a bloke and I'm fine with you but this is ridiculous! There is no shibboleth for the presidency (guess which West Wing episode I'm currently watching) but if we go on experience, demonstrated ability generally and calmness under pressure (a key factor for an American president), even with the legitimate questions about her as a candidate, there is only one possible choice for president of these two candidates as the US goes to the polls. I may not support all Hillary Clinton has done or will do as president but right now I'm with her and not because she is the lesser of two evils but for the valid issues, she is still the better candidate.
A few more things:
- Dear Republican Party, too little too late! I know that many prominent Republicans have declared that they are voting Democrat or not voting for President in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape scandal. The people voting for Trump are in large part not dyed in the wool Republicans, and your decision will not change theirs. You have allowed the beast to grow and you needed to chop off its head back when it was just an idea. You needed to nominate from the floor at the RNC or to better coordinate your efforts as candidates fought for the nomination- some of your potential nominees who weren't Trump were down right scary or just plain foolish and there were generally just too many of them, you could have narrowed the field and put your power behind one of them who wasn't Trump. If you had done this, you wouldn't be needing to have this scrambling discussion now because Trump wouldn't be a factor.
- Dear Trump voters, I'm excited that so many of you are voting for the first time because, you know what, voting is important! I don't agree with your choice and I'm horrified by the sentiments you keep expressing about the Democratic candidate, women, and people of other races. However I feel sympathy for the fact that so many of you feel so unheard by your society. So on this eve of the election, I beg you, to pause, and think about the weight of the responsibility of voting, and to think on why it never was something you were interested in previously. I ask you to think about whether it is true that despite all evidence a New York billionaire could know and speak to the values and needs of working class Americans in the mid west and south of the country. I implore you to speak to your friends who always vote about why they vote the way they do. Voting is powerful tool and it isn't just a means to make a one off statement- the person elected needs to be capable of running the country for the next four years.
- Dear Hillary Clinton (hopefully by the end of tomorrow Dear President Elect Clinton), don't forget the reason the Trump campaign happened. Working class America has a voice and the politicians of your country (and all countries because it is the working class community in other countries who had major roles in, for example, Australia's scary senate, and in Brexit) need to start looking at why they feel the way they do. Under the rhetoric of racism and sexism, there are fixable issues or at least issues to be discussed surrounding rights, entitlements, the economy, employment, and adjustment to change. Don't be scared by the rhetoric but actually seek to heal the divide because the world will just get scarier if it isn't fixed.
So that is my American election post. I'll be happy when it is over...though that will mean the end of the Kate McKinnon/ Alec Baldwin bits on SNL which I have loved to bits. There is so much wrong with the US that I cannot see the solution for but as a country that has mandatory detention for asylum seekers, Australia cannot be the moral guide point on anything right now either. I want to see that greater and more intelligent public debate that The West Wing dreamed of but it seems more wish fulfillment than ever (especially as the President who might have got the world nearer it has spent most of the last eight year hampered by congress...Barrack Obama, I will miss you). Maybe the very idea of America is an exercise in wish fulfillment as from its foundations it sought to be set itself up with unique, as the dream state to which other could aspire but which never met its full potential. Aside from The West Wing, the pop culture respite to the election cycle for me has been the soundtrack to Hamilton (fingers crossed, hoping, and praying I get tickets for it when it opens in London as I'll be there then- I'm also reading the Hamilton biography on which it is based, so yes I'm more than an little obsessed). The beautiful thing about Hamilton, aside from the fact it has been the trigger in changing my mind on rap as a genre, is the great promise of the unfulfilled potential of the idea of a new nation. The American founding fathers may have been further right wing in their politics than I would subscribe to (Democrats weren't a thing back then and definitely not us far on the left) but they were intelligent men with big ideas and sharp minds who loved debate, and you've got to love that. The women that they were married to were also amazing despite the fact that we are still discovering their stories- history being the domain of men and all- just look up Alexander Hamilton's wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and her sisters (all of whom feature in the musical with some historical embellishment- no qualms with Lin Manuel Miranda's depiction of them, but the reality of all of them is even more amazing) for an idea of what I mean. Americans are going in droves to see this play, and the fact of the matter is this is what their political system promised when it started so they should be seeking that appeal to their better angels as they vote. In the play, Hamilton describes the nation that America could be as he dies- "American, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me, you let me make difference, a place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints, and rise up". This is the America that America should be, the place of endless possibility for everyone...for all the reasons that Anita in West Side Story wanted to be there and beyond.
So tomorrow get to those poll booths, think about your vote including its impact on the rest of the world, and please don't elect a man who thinks insulting people and meaningful debate are the same thing...don't throw away your shot, America!
A solid principle in voting and holding political office as well as for the kind of man hunt the Schuyler sisters on it at this point in Hamilton
*There are some questions about Hillary Clinton's responses in the past to sexual assault allegations against her husband, and there is no getting away from that. Not that her responses are to be ignored or taken lightly, but it needs to be taken into account that many of her responses quoted were in the immediate aftermath of the accusations and the fact that she felt personal hurt that flavoured her responses at the time of the quotes cannot be dismissed.
