Mittwoch, 5. September 2012

Signal Right and then Turn Left?


Contrary to what the inactivity of this blog might suggest, the past year has been anything but inactive. It’s been filled with theses that managed to satisfy my need to spout my opinion on the internet (if you do however feel the need for some opinionated comments, I recommend youtube.com) and some travelling, however not lengthy enough to get an inside view.
So instead of foreign cultures, maybe it is time to take a candid look at my own native society. But with so much fodder being thrown my way in the form of the US presidential elections, I find myself unable to resist at least a very short commentary on the goings-on on the other side of the ‘big pond’.
So here goes: The Presidential Elections As Seen By [A] German[s] (abridged version; trust me, I could go on about this all day).
  1. The Social Issues: At its starkest, Todd Akin stands against Mr. Obama. Somewhat reassuringly, the GOP has urged Mr. Akin to give up his candidature for the Senate (which he has yet to do), but on the whole this discussion cannot but leave the sour aftertaste in your mouth that America may be the Land of the Free, but the Free doesn’t quite manage to cover those citizens with a uterus. Seen from a country where the freedom to choose when in comes to abortion, especially if a criminal offence is involved, is and has been the norm for more than forty years, this discussion strikes one as just as outdated as the ongoing claim that homosexuality is a curable disease or (my personal favourite) the controversy surrounding the religious beliefs of the President. In Germany, as in much of the rest of Europe, secularism in general is on the rise and the latest discussion about same-sex marriages here to hit the headlines focussed on tax breaks.
  2. The Economic Issues: Quite frankly, since the PIGS (I swear I didn’t make that up) are on the verge of bankruptcy here in our own back yard, the plight of the American finances is only of marginal importance. Add to that the growing importance of Asia and the already established dominance of other EU states as the main German trading partners, and you have the perfect ingredients for an ‘As long as you don’t want money from the ESM, you can do whatever you want’ attitude. Which is fortunate, since the candidates seem to have forgotten their own economic plans and their voting history (yes, I’m talking about you Mr. Ryan. That’s right, blush in shame) in all the fervour of digging up dirt on the opponent. So it doesn’t really matter that Mr. Romney was a successful businessman or that Mr. Obama actually didn’t do so badly when dealing with the crisis in 2009. Just don’t sell off Rhode Island quite yet, the market for islands is already saturated.
  3. The Foreign Policy Issues: There’s a reason why the word Schadenfreude only exists in German. Yes, a part of us would have loved to see the London Olympics go wrong. But for an American to come over here and lord over our next-door neighbour? Not cool, Mitt, not cool. On the whole, however, German expectations of US geographical knowledge are so low, we’re quite content if you don’t invade Uz-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan by mistake.
On a more serious note, even though I am a supporter of Barack Obama and would be a Democrat were I a US citizen (for numerous reasons), I didn’t always believe Mitt Romney would be a complete catastrophe; his record as governor of Massachusetts is quite heartening. Sadly, however, he has chosen to renounce his ideas and beliefs from his time as governor to instead pander to the right wing of his party. This is not only disturbing in regards to content, but more so in that he seems to be willing to give up what he stood for at the bat of an eye for a chance at the top job. And in today’s world, where all countries are in the end interconnected in some way, is it really wise to have a leader, any leader, much less of one of the most influential countries in the world, who seems able to change his mind faster than you can say “I’m generally suspicious of people who don’t drink anyway”? I didn’t think so either.