Something to Consider at the Polls

A couple of weeks ago Nat and I were at a local coffee shop here on Bainbridge and we fell into a conversation with an older couple there. They were asking us about our reaction to the VP debate, and we started discussing voting and politics in general. They had just returned from a trip to Greece. This was their third or fourth trip there; their first trip had been about three years into President Bush's first term. They were telling us how the first time they were in Greece, many people that they spoke with said things like "We don't like Bush but we know you have another election coming soon;" "We love America and Americans but we hate President Bush" etc. However, this time around, sentiment had changed drastically. "We used to think America was so great," people said, "but then you re-elected George Bush. Why did you do that?" Another man with whom they shared many political discussions said, "You Americans are so arrogant to only send half your population to the polls. Here is a country whose leaders help decide policies for much of the world and who dictate conditions in wars that effect many people who are not Americans, and only half your citizens vote? It is so arrogant. Americans should be ashamed."

I know there is a lot of talk about anti-American sentiment, and that there has been, always, dating much farther back than the last 8 years. However, I think it is very humbling to consider our vote in terms of how we will choose the leadership that negotiates with the citizens of other countries. And maybe you'll think that's just me being a liberal and not being patriotic enough, or whatever, but I think that it is absolutely of utmost importance to consider how our leaders will design policies for third-world, AIDS-ridden Africa, or war-torn Iraq, or even European countries experiencing recession due to the economic decisions we have made in our country. It is incredibly self-centered to believe that America is some kind of isolationist state; we are as much a part of the world stage as anybody else, if not more, and our responsibility at the polls is more than just picking a name we like to say with the word "President."