SGA 5x12: "Outsiders"

( Spoilers, mostly on the whiny side )

In other news, I've watched through ep 4 of Merlin. ( Minor spoilers for that. Also, it is totally the anti-Smallville, have you noticed? )

the inevitable political post

(I'm American, it had to come up sometime!) Just mailed in my absentee ballot today, so it's on my mind. Don't worry, you probably won't hear much more from me on the subject, but I had to get my piece in.

I'm not going to campaign much, I'm sure you all are getting that from enough sources. And if you're American and have already voted, or already have decided what your vote is, you can stop reading here. If you haven't decided, though, if you're still on the fence, or if someone you know is on the fence...I just want to say, please consider voting Obama.

I'm not asking you to give in to the hype or believe in the Obama message of hope. He's a politician, and it's only reasonable to be wary of his idealism. I'm not sure I believe it myself - I want to, very much, but even when I believe he's sincere (and I admit I do) I'm too much of a cynic to think he'll really be able to do all he'd like to.

But the world wants Obama. So many of my Japanese students, and my fellow English teachers from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, are watching this election like hawks. Every time they see me they ask me how it's going. The President of the USA is probably the most influential political position in the world; the decisions of the president affect not just Americans, but everyone. Obviously Japan has even closer ties than most nations, but everyone has a vested interest in this election, and as stressful as it is for Americans, it's almost as bad for everyone else who can only watch, unable to do anything. And pretty much all of them would be voting Obama if they could - if this were a worldwide election, it would be Obama's victory by a landslide. Bush is a pretty terrifying figure these last few years because of his stupidity and incompetency, no one knows who he might want to attack next, and McCain is mainly known abroad for following Bush's lead. And Palin's even scarier. While as Obama is intelligent and charismatic and well-spoken and not terrifying - his sincerity and hype has convinced much of the planet even if not all Americans, and so many non-Americans will feel differently about America if he's the man at the helm.

And we need that cred. We've got a global economy now, we're not alone against the planet. What other nations think of us matters, and the President is the face we present to the world. And Obama is the face I want representing me, a face that millions worldwide already trust and respect.

More than anything, I want Obama to win because for once, I want to be able to be abroad and tell people, "I'm American," and say it proudly, and not have to immediately append, "And I didn't vote for the president, honest, it's not my fault, I'm so sorry!"