Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Election
With all this stripper-nun business and Halloween stuff, I completely forgot to write about mailing my absentee ballot last week. I had almost forgotten what was going on in my own country.
People I've met here have a lot of questions about America, and a lot of them are along the lines of, "Do people in your country really like George W. Bush?" The question is asked in the same tone you would use if you were asking someone if they really believed in Bigfoot. I have to explain to them that I've never personally met anybody who didn't think he was a huge wanker (British vocab word!), but I come from a very liberal city that is practically wallpapered with anti-Bush signs, posters, flyers, etc.
I'm very tempted to tell people that nobody in our country likes Bush either, but I remember traveling down to Georgia for a wedding over the summer, and I remember my dad's horror stories about being in Toledo, Ohio to visit his mother and seeing about a 50/50 political divide over there. Keeping in mind all that stuff about having respect for other people's beliefs and all that, I still get chills imagining that there are people out there who actually support Bush.
I get chills when Bush says things like "God bless" because I know he really, really means it. When I was talking to Ballal last week, I remember telling him I didn't know where I ultimately wanted to live, but I was pretty sure it wasn't America. I have such a problem with this big role religion has in how our country is run. I don't care if we have a religious man as our President, but it's really gross to me that it's okay for him to legislate morality based on his private beliefs.
Legalizing abortion or gay marriage doesn't force anyone to have an abortion or marry someone of the same sex. Supporting comprehensive sex education in public schools is not going to inspire teenagers to have sex BECAUSE THEY ALREADY DO IT. Things like that blow my mind. Why are we so fond of taking away freedoms to try and force everyone to have the same moral standards?
My country is a joke when it comes up in conversation here. It's instant comedy when the President of my nation appears on the television. Sometimes I can't help laughing, but it hurts, too. Not because everyone is laughing at my President, but because I don't blame them. I've gotten the impression that many people here have just written us off as insane. "We're not all like that!" I have to shout to anyone within hearing range whenever Bush comes up on the news surrounded by Americans cheering him on. "It's just that the ignorant crazies are more likely to get off their asses and vote. I learned that in my sociology class! It's true!"
Anyway. I'm just waiting on the edge of my seat for the verdict. Don't let me down, America. You're still my country and I really, really don't want to be so mad at you.
People I've met here have a lot of questions about America, and a lot of them are along the lines of, "Do people in your country really like George W. Bush?" The question is asked in the same tone you would use if you were asking someone if they really believed in Bigfoot. I have to explain to them that I've never personally met anybody who didn't think he was a huge wanker (British vocab word!), but I come from a very liberal city that is practically wallpapered with anti-Bush signs, posters, flyers, etc.
I'm very tempted to tell people that nobody in our country likes Bush either, but I remember traveling down to Georgia for a wedding over the summer, and I remember my dad's horror stories about being in Toledo, Ohio to visit his mother and seeing about a 50/50 political divide over there. Keeping in mind all that stuff about having respect for other people's beliefs and all that, I still get chills imagining that there are people out there who actually support Bush.
I get chills when Bush says things like "God bless" because I know he really, really means it. When I was talking to Ballal last week, I remember telling him I didn't know where I ultimately wanted to live, but I was pretty sure it wasn't America. I have such a problem with this big role religion has in how our country is run. I don't care if we have a religious man as our President, but it's really gross to me that it's okay for him to legislate morality based on his private beliefs.
Legalizing abortion or gay marriage doesn't force anyone to have an abortion or marry someone of the same sex. Supporting comprehensive sex education in public schools is not going to inspire teenagers to have sex BECAUSE THEY ALREADY DO IT. Things like that blow my mind. Why are we so fond of taking away freedoms to try and force everyone to have the same moral standards?
My country is a joke when it comes up in conversation here. It's instant comedy when the President of my nation appears on the television. Sometimes I can't help laughing, but it hurts, too. Not because everyone is laughing at my President, but because I don't blame them. I've gotten the impression that many people here have just written us off as insane. "We're not all like that!" I have to shout to anyone within hearing range whenever Bush comes up on the news surrounded by Americans cheering him on. "It's just that the ignorant crazies are more likely to get off their asses and vote. I learned that in my sociology class! It's true!"
Anyway. I'm just waiting on the edge of my seat for the verdict. Don't let me down, America. You're still my country and I really, really don't want to be so mad at you.
