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Restoring Faith in America
October 30, 2008 | 10 Comments
People of various hues and persuasions come to America. Aspiration is a thing in common to a vast majority of these folks. Aspiration for a better life. A life which will be furthered by hard work and merit.
My journey here was an easy one in comparison to many others. My stay, first as a student, and later as a resident and citizen is not atypical of many who came to America to study and work.
This is the fifth US presidential election that I am witnessing at close hand and the first one that I can vote in. In the intervening time I have seen a sea shift in the attitudes of people towards America. As the economies of many other nations become relatively better, America’s position as a land of opportunity diminishes. As the local population turned more socially conservative and let their values determined by narrow religious views, tolerance of diversity goes down. This tolerance is what made America the second home to the rest of the world (and the first home for those who are persecuted in their home country). This lack of acceptance is going to keep people away (especially the “knowledge” workers).
On a normal day, I don’t see much difference between the mainstream US Democrats and Republicans. Both endorse a huge defense machine, provide subsidies to large agricultural businesses, give big tax breaks to corporations, and subscribe to relatively conservative social agendas.
I would like to see a break in the stranglehold of this two party system, but what is happening instead is that any semblance of moderate voices in these parties is being drowned by extreme view points (especially in the right). In this election, it has manifested in the bizarre selection of Sarah Palin as GOP VP candidate and the rallies have evoked raw hatred bordering on violence. Even if these are deemed to be fringe elements, this is not the kind of political discourse that the rest of the world can look up to.
If the McCain-Palin ticket wins, it sends a clear message to the world that the jingoistic America is alive and well. “Please don’t come here rest of the world, you are not welcome”, the message seems to say. On the other hand, an Obama-Biden victory will certainly restore my faith in America. A recent BBC poll in 22 countries favored Obama-Biden heavily (4:1 in most places). The rest of the world is watching this election closely, probably a bit more closely than citizens like myself.
I voted. What about you?
-Jai
Filed Under: MUSINGS, NaBloWriMo, Politics
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10 Comments
The video is so cute!!
I will be voting. And just like you, it will be my first time. While I am not impressed with either parties’ economic plans for the country, I know for sure I dont want to give my vote to a candidate that prolongs the current misery for another 8 years. Domestic and foreign policies need to be made over and the world that is watching this election closely needs to be reassured that all is not bad.
Its obvious who I am going to vote for.
This is going to be my first time too, and to be honest, the first time I have given so much of my time to understanding politics (or rather trying to understand). For me, there are simply too many issues and basic fundamental ones at that, on which I don’t agree with McCain-Palin. I’d rather pin my hope on the other ticket and see where it takes us.
this will be my first time voting too. after dragging my feet for a few years, i signed up for citizenship and was granted the honor Feb. 2007… all in time to vote!
Hi, this is my first election in US. i cant vote but i truly believe Obama is the hope and light for America… He appeals to me as a politician with values and a very down to earth human being, like a politician with a heart… I hope Americans open their eyes and cast their vote for Change(Barack Obama). Nothing comes easy .. so is a good reasonable change .. It is horrifying to see mccain-palin talk unreasonably about Obama…
We are keeping our fingers crossed for Obama. We need change and I sincerely think he can do a much better job than the other two.
So Jai is back home and in time to vote!
I voted early in Los Angeles! How exciting it must be for you to vote in your first election! I applaud your volunteer efforts too! Only 4 more days…
[...] Restoring Faith in America People of various hues and persuasions come to America. Aspiration is a thing in common to a vast majority of these folks. Aspiration for a better life. A life which will be furthered by hard work and merit. My journey here was an easy one in comparison to many others. [...] [...]
I voted, early! Thankfully my state’s one of those that allows early voting. I regularly hear or say to people around me, we as people read books, blogs, news and other sites that agree with our opinions. Most of my friends are liberals, democrats and progressives. So I question often, is this election one of those that I am hearing biased opinions for pro obama or is this really the year that people (democrats, republicans, AND independents) are fed up with the past 8 years of our country? I really want to believe it’s the latter because if the country doesn’t move towards change (for the betterment of its people and the country) through Obama/Biden administration, that will mean the country is stepping back into the ages when civil rights and women’s rights grassroots movements were just getting started. Do we need to fight those battles again?