The day has finally dawned. The US Presidential Election.
Oh me, oh my.
My stomach is in knots, I have a caffeine induced headache, and I'm prowling the flat virtually glued to the internet for any news.
(Thank god the computer is now working. It was out of action for a day or two, much to our horror. I was flabbergasted - and slightly perturbed - to realize how much we rely on it).
I even wheeled out the goggle box, hoping CTV might oblige me with an update or two, but they are resolutely sticking to their regular day time dreck of talk shows and soaps. I never thought there would come a time when I vehemently wished for cable. What blasphemy.
As for American politics, I've never had more than a glancing interest. I mean, I like to know what's going on, but this election is different. I feel - like millions of others world-wide - that I have a personal investment. I've always maintained that it's not fair that only Americans get to vote for the president, since whom they choose as their helmsman has incontrovertible repercussions for the rest of us.
It's been galling (not to mention sinister) watching the American media and hence, the American public, swallow whole the lies promulgated by George W Bush and his administration.
And despite the best efforts of artists such as Eminem, Michael Moore and the French film maker William Kabal (his excellent documentary The World According to Bush is a must see), to expose the unseemly underbelly of Bush's corrupt cabal, polls have consistently placed Bush and Kerry neck and neck.
How can Bush still be in this race?
This is the question that millions the world over - those outside of America's borders - have been asking again and again.
It is a perplexing and disturbing mystery to most of us. I doubt there has been any other president in American history who has been quite so thoroughly despised by the global community
Article comments
1 - Yensid
Kirsten, Great entry. To answer your question about the American people voting for Bush, the answer is simply ignorance. A lot of this country is simple minded and simply too busy with their lives to care. They see things from above and through the spin of the American media pundits. It is very hard to get real facts these days and if you don't work at it, the sad fact is that you will be mislead by propaganda.
I voted today and I voted for Kerry. Don't give up hope.
2 - Kirsten
Yensid,
Just wanted to say thanks so much for your comment - positive feedback is always fantastic, and your urge to not give up hope was really moving. Fingers crossed for you guys. It's not looking great in the results polls at the moment, but the big states have yet to be counted, so there's still hope, there's still hope!
Thanks again,
Kirsten
3 - Mac Diva
Kirsten, I think a lot of the identification with Bush is cognitive dissonance. Many Americans support him despite their interests not being remotely served by his policies.
A few days ago, several of us were involved in a conversation with some members of the U.S. military. The enlisted people kept insisting that there was no poverty or hunger in the U.S. The most recent data
(the Bushites are holding some back) says more than 11 percent of the population experienced hunger in 2002. Furthermore, many military families have incomes that are below or the near the poverty level. That mattered not a whit to the ugly Americans involved. Their hatred of other Americans they consider beneath them was what counted. Even if John Kerry wins this election, we have an incredible challenge ahead. Extreme ignorance like what I've just described is the product of a society that encourages stupidity. That is one of the things I hope a change in leadership will help us reform.
4 - andy marsh
diva - you're so full of shit it's funny...neither one of us (military) said there was no poverty in this country...what we said was we don't feel obligated to continue to support people that won't help themselves..there's a big difference...in that same thread, I said that when I was in the military I was eligible for food stamps and WIC and other benefits and never excepted them...if you're going to spew, then at least spew a resemblance of the truth!