September 16th, 2008
Elections
One of the best parts about being a Canadian in North Carolina is the inevitable question: “IF you could vote, who would you vote for?”
There’s an underlying hostility in this question. What it’s really saying is this: “As a Canadian, I know you’re a flag-waving communist and you’d tax us to death if you had your way. But since you’re Canadian, you don’t have any real say in our affairs – thank God – so just keep paying your taxes, smile and shut up. Oh, and by the way … if we did glorify you with citizenship, who would you vote for? Speak clearly into the microphone if you will …”
This is where I get to politely explain the concept of dual citizenship. And yes – I can vote in the United States. And yes, I plan to vote.
I have learned why our mothers tells us never to discuss sex, religion and politics. Talking about religion leads to stories about how we chase away door-to-door church peddlers – until someone gets offended because they spent their weekend knocking on doors. Talking about politics can end up in fistfights. And talking about sex can lead to sex, which is fine unless you’re supposed to be peddling your religion door-to-door. Or, something like that.
But this is a special time, when politicians are frothing at the lips to sell us their particular brand of patriotism. I’m especially fond of the dirt-slinging that’s starting up, and I’ll relish it as it gets more salacious.
What’s even better is that the country is in a complete nose-dive. Investment banks are going bankrupt, insurance companies are close behind and oil prices are flying around like Bristol Palin’s bedsheets. Add to that some bad weather in Texas and a plummeting dollar, and you’ve got yourself a country that’s in some deep doodoo.
Of course, who we elect this time around won’t make any real difference. The villages that McCain and Palin came from are missing their idiots, and I’m not delusional enough to think that Obama and that other guy will make much more of a difference.
I’ll vote Democrat in this coming election because I believe the Republican party is morally and ethically bankrupt to the point that many of this Republican administration’s actions are contemptibly criminal.
This goes against two of my basic voting principles: the first being to vote for the individual, not the party (not that there’s an ice cube’s chance in hell that I’d vote for McCain and Palin), and the second being to not cast a vote for one party simply to spite the other (which is pretty much what I’m doing, since I don’t have any strong love-affair with the Democrats).
These are interesting times we live in.