Biting My Nails

Life these days feels very busy, so much so that I haven't been able to write much of anything, either here or on any of my ongoing projects. But I think there is another factor, besides work deadlines, choir rehearsals, email correspondence, meals to cook and cats to feed, and all the other aspects of daily life.

It's the damned election.

Since moving up here, across that strange and rather arbitrary border, I've tried keep emotionally away from the ugly morass of American politics. It took us a couple of years just to de-toxify so that our reactions weren't automatically, knee-jerkedly, affected by the fact of being Americans who had been steeped in that particular soup since birth. And if that's who you are, still, I doubt that you can really know what I'm talking about unless you've lived elsewhere for a significant period of time.

Staying out of it is, of course, impossible, because U.S. politics affects almost everyone: it's the stuff of news, almost everywhere, and it matters. And I'm an American citizen, and always will be, even after receiving dual citizenship in Canada. I've followed Obama's presidency, at some distance, to be sure, but with interest -- four years ago, my husband and I drove all the way to Washington to attend the inauguration. Like many progressively-minded people on the planet, we had high hopes, but we also had big doubts about his own plans for bipartisan cooperation, and for what he would be able to accomplish in such a polarized, hostile, and money/special-interest-influenced atmosphere.

I'm afraid it has played out just that way. I've been gravely disappointed in this presidency, and particularly in the foreign policy as led by Hilary Clinton, who has turned out to be both hawkish and, I feel, completely wrong in her ideas of how to deal with tensions in the Middle East -- a subject I care about a great deal.

But the alternative - a Romney presidency - would be so much worse. Why anyone -- but particularly any woman -- would vote for him is completely beyond me.

I voted by absentee ballot, and was glad to cast my ballot for Obama as the better of the two choices. I hope, if he manages to win, that he'll have a somewhat easier time in a second term. I'll be in the U.S. on election night, and will be watching the returns. But I'm worried about what may happen, and dismayed that no matter who wins, I won't really feel my deepest desires -- for a world where peace is truly sought, where the natural environment is treasured, where the poor and disenfranchised are cared for, where every human being matters, where money no longer calls the shots -- will be represented. How many of us do?

I was fortunate to live in Vermont for 30 years, and I'm fortunate to live now in Quebec, the most liberal place in Canada, and in North America. My values are close to those of my fellow Quebecois. But I also know that the border is just a line on a map, and that what happens in the U.S. election will affect me, and all of us.

Please vote.

Comments

[Marja-Leena]

Beth, from the viewpoint of a Canadian, your words here voice all my deepest concerns too. It has been endlessly frustrating to watch what is going on south of our border. Perhaps even more than four years ago, we will be on tenterhooks on election night. (And I must add that our own government is not much better, in case any American readers think we have a holier-than-thou attitude.)

[Jan]

I'm sick at heart over Citizen's United: that companies can pour unlimited money into campaign attack ads in total secrecy, while at the same time the GOP has made it harder for honest citizens to vote and have their voices heard. America has endured political shenanigans since its founding, but never has it faced the vast sums of hidden money that threatens now to corrupt the system. I have voted absentee and am on pins and needles. This is not just each citizen voting on whose policies best represent his or her values, but how much money can distort the truth and manipulate the election.

[mike]

I'm studying the Green and Libertarian Party candidates. Obama will receive all of New York State's electoral college votes anyway, so I'll probably cast my ballot not for the lesser of two evils, but for someone who espouses more radical change.

[Roderick Robinson]

Our younger daughter was born when we lived in the US and has dual citizienship. A few years ago she had to straighten out some passport details at the US Embassy in London and a marine guard's response to her query ("Welcome home ma'am!" Ah, the huge assumptions.) has entered the family pantheon. Never mind, we too have a tiny techno-reason (as well as an enormous emotional reason) for being worried by the US elections.

Is it going to be Junior Bush all over again? A carved wooden figurehead manipulated by a set of business interests. One minor detail: Europeans are often pooh-poohed in the US for not having sufficiently good orthodontics. Mitt is one of the few Americans I know who has carried tooth care to its logical conclusion: his gnashers now look artificial.

[Jean]

Yes, it does matter to all of ue everywhere and we're all on tenterhooks and wondering how on earth anyone can vote for Romney (and at the same time all too aware of the kinds of resentment and clever manipulation that might motivate perfectly decent people to do so, as it motivates ordinary people everywhere to support dreadful politicians).

But I can only imagine how it feels to an US citizen. Certainly quite enough to preoccupy and distract you! I guess all any of us can say (and certainly what you already think) is: all the more reason to hold hard to your own values and ideals and keep believing in better times and the incredible endurance of creative energy, for all its ups and downs.

[Beth]

Marja-Leena, thanks for making that important point. I agree about our Canadian government. I guess it's "good" that, even if Canada is badly governed, it doesn't affect other countries the same way.

Jan -- you've put your finger squarely on the main problem.

Mike - yes, in many states a protest vote or a conscience vote can be a good way to go; I just hope people understand that they're doing in their own particular situation.

Roderick - as Jan points out, above, no matter who wins, they will be influenced a great deal by Big Money and the special interest lobbies. And Congress is essentially bought: lock, stock and barrel.

Thanks, Jean. I'm surprised how much it's affecting me, even though I've refused to watch the debates or to follow the news intensively. The world just appalls me a lot of the time, and the only thing that seems to mitigate my revulsion at what the powerful are doing is to cleave to the simple, and the creative, realizing that my own sanity is precious and worth protecting. Of course it's also important to do what we can, but the forces are so huge and the fate of so many in the hands of so few, that I feel more helpless about the state of the world than at any other time in my life. Ironically, perhaps, I also feel more able to cope with my own life, and not sink into depression about it.

I appreciate your solidarity!

[Natalie]

Beth, even though I now feel distanced from American politics, you're absolutely right that they affect the world as a whole and it's impossible to be indifferent. I haven't followed all the election debates but I do read the views from over here and my feeling is one of fear, every time there's the slightest indication that Romney is gaining ground. I too am hugely disillusioned with Obama, especially with foreign policy, but he's the lesser of two evils. What is very hard to understand is why, in this age of the internet and easy access to world news and information,such a vast number of Americans are so incredibly ignorant about what really goes on in the world outside the USA.

[flask]

beth, i live in vermont.

i promise to vote.

here is my theory about why the obama administration is falling so far short of its promise: he simply didn't know before they opened up the presidential black box of secrets how deep he was in it with big money sucking the life out of the country worse than anyone can see until they're IN the presidency and i think he said "holy crap! we can't tell people the truth about this! there would be worldwide consequences!"

you look at where obama backpedals on his promises and it leads straight to the money. i think (but i'm not sure) that he's at least still trying to shovel out the muck.

unhappily, the republican party as if functions now (and my family is traditionally republican) is very good at getting people to vote against their own interests and in favor of impoverishment and surveillance.

i am afraid.