I didn’t want to write about the US election results right away. It seemed too immediate and too raw to be all that useful. With some time to reflect, here’s what occurs to me. I’m still not sure it’s worthwhile to anyone but me, but it is personally necessary. (If you’re reading this, it may be helpful to know that I consider myself politically moderate and have in the past been willing to vote for whoever I thought the best candidate was, regardless of party affiliation):
I was surprised at the surge of emotion I felt when Obama was declared the winner. This had a little to do with living overseas. Having to put up with Bush as president just feels worse when you’re abroad. It’s kind of like having a crazy Uncle: It’s much more embarrassing when you’re out in public with him than in the privacy of your home. (Don’t jump on me here–I’m talking about perception. Living with Bush has been awful for nearly everyone, regardless of where you live, and truly horrible for those at the sharp end of our military industrial complex.)
Obama’s election also drove home to me a fundamental difference between America and the UK. In the US there exists a capacity for re-invention and a willingness to fight for change springing from a genuine belief that it can be achieved. This is rarer here: To some extent, the British ethos is one of waiting to be told what to do, one that puts an emphasis on following protocols and form, with too little emphasis on the outcome, and, still, one that puts class and family history above merit or achievement. Obama would not be possible in the UK. That we are capable of electing him in the US gives hope.
I hadn’t realised the extent to which I’d resigned myself to the status quo, and how much that had worn me down. For the last eight years, we have been told that lies are truths, truths are lies, up is down, right is left, and two plus two doesn’t equal four and never has. Bush and the Neocons undermined the constitution that is the foundation of our country and had the arrogance and raw cynicism to do so under the banner of patriotism. (This suggests they were all too aware of the ignorance of the Republican base, indeed, that they counted on it.) The purpose of government was no longer to serve the people, but to serve the will and ravenous appetite for power of the executive branch. Checks and balances were purposefully eroded, decks were stacked, and incompetent party hacks were appointed to key roles with all too real, utterly disastrous consequences at home and abroad. (Can we just make the Federalist Papers required reading for schoolchildren, please?). Human decency appeared to count for nothing; profoundly immoral acts were proclaimed as moral by men unqualified to make that judgment; and most of what I have always taken for granted as having in common with reasonable people felt like it was open to serious doubt.
When Obama was announced as the winner, then, a weight to which I had become unknowingly and unwillingly accustomed was lifted. I have no illusions about the political machines that dominate our government and I do not believe that Obama can or even that he wants to challenge them. But at least I now know that someone is in charge who appears to have a clear moral compass and the understanding and intelligence to govern responsibly. That’s worth a great deal.
