by Bia Assevero
– USA / France –
Youth is wasted on the young.
How many times have we heard that before?
In my case though, I’m beginning to wonder if the right to vote isn’t wasted on me as well. I have endless people telling me that I have to vote; it’s my duty as a conscientious American citizen – never mind that I also have a French passport.
My boss told me that I don’t have the right to take my vote for granted. People died so that I would have the right to walk into a voting booth and make a choice. Even friends of mine on the other side of the world are encouraging me to just do it.
The irony is that for the first time in my life that I actually do want to vote – granted this is only the second election that I’m legally eligible. I don’t disagree with the importance of participating in the political process and it is precisely for this reason that I am torn.
I do not want to vote simply for the sake of voting. If on November 4th I exercise my right to vote, I want it to count for something that I personally believe in, rather than paying lip service to the principle of the thing. I want it be a true reflection of what I feel is best for America and equally important to me, America’s influence on the rest of the world.
I am not torn about who I want to vote for. All things being equal, I believe that Barack Obama will make a better president than John McCain. But timing is everything and I am not certain that the time for Barack Obama is now.
It’s not about having a black man as president or how much experience he has or doesn’t have. In actual fact, it’s nothing to do with Obama at all. It’s about where America is and the challenges that it faces.
I’m the first to admit that I am primarily focused on and worried about America’s foreign policy. I’m aware – as anyone living here would have to be – of the domestic issues that are pressing for solutions. The health care system in this country is abominable. The economic crisis and its assorted effects are touching all Americans and yet despite those things, I cannot help but be apprehensive about the dangerous path that America has undertaken internationally.
My concerns aren’t born from detached observation or the study of political theory; they are based on my own experiences. I have keenly felt the frustration, disillusionment and hostility that American policies overseas engender in other countries and cultures.
When I was 16 and living in Trinidad, I was active in Model United Nations. My school – a bastion of ex-pats – was enlisted to help organize a conference with local Trinidadian schools. I was invited to lend my experience by co-chairing the conference. At one point, to simplify matters, we altered the procedure for making amendments. The conference broke for lunch and I found myself confronted by a delegate who was not pleased with the change in proceedings.
He concluded his rant with “I understand why Osama is trying to blow you all up.”
Naturally I was both shocked and offended, but it merely proves the point. The ideals that America embodies and has been admired for – it’s freedoms and opportunities for upward social mobility, its hope – have become tainted by an insolent and nationalistic disregard for how American actions impact the rest of the world.
I took my parents to see Bill Maher’s Religulous recently. Satire and delusional characters aside, Maher makes an important point when he highlights how over the last eight years of the Bush administration, there has been a disturbing trend of combining religion and affairs of state. America has become a “Christian” nation in the political rhetoric.
I have nothing against religion – people must be free to believe in whatever they like – but I am very strongly against its presence in matters of state. The absolute separation of the two is one of the things I cherish most about France.
By incorporating religion into political rhetoric and pitting the “Christian” United States against Islam – especially when great pains have been taken to make being Muslim synonymous with being a terrorist – the Bush administration has put this country on a collision course with disaster.
Religion in America is really no longer about personal beliefs, faith or spirituality. It has become a tool used by the government to justify misguided and catastrophic foreign policy. Never mind that Osama is still at large or that there were never any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. All that matters is that the “Christian” and American way of life is supposedly less threatened by Islamic fundamentalists.
We are on the road towards what Samuel Huntington called the Clash of Civilizations. The Bush administration, and right wing conservatives in general, would like Americans to believe that we are already there – that there is no alternative to pursuing some sort of holy crusade against Islam and that the only choice is kill or be killed.
This is of course not the case. Yet.
The situation only becomes more complex when one examines the myriad potential threats and pitfalls that exist outside of US borders. No matter which candidate takes office, he inherits an impossible position.
The problems that America faces will not be solved in the next four or even eight years, which brings me to my conundrum: Do I want to contribute to installing Barack Obama into the Oval Office, only to watch his potential to truly change America get bogged down and ultimately nullified by current circumstances?
The answer is no, not really.
To me, Obama is the president that America needs to turn the country around; he is the man who can rehabilitate its international image and restore faith in the American dream. Americans should not forget that part of what makes this country great is that fact people all over the world aspire to the ideals that it continues to represent, despite the legacy of the Bush administration.
However before that can happen, I think America needs to hit rock bottom. I’m not sure how rock bottom will manifest but I am instinctively convinced that things need to get worse before they can get better.
If elected, John McCain will likely continue on the same path as George W. Bush, just like there will never be a shortage of right wing conservatives happy to carry on in this vein. There is on the other hand, only one Barack Obama and unfortunately, no one immediately apparent as a candidate who could continue rebuilding America should Obama be elected and not get the job done in a single or even double term.
The right man at the wrong time does no more good than the wrong man at any time.
And so I ask the question: to vote or not to vote?
Photo by flickr user Cave Canem used under Creative Commons licenses. – Ed.
About the Author
Bia Assevero is a dual French-American citizen and a graduate of the American University of Paris with degrees in international politics and international affairs.
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