"your"? *smirk*

Well, yes... even though I've lived here in America since 1980, I haven't become a citizen yet; and thus can't honestly claim that I've contributed in an official way to choosing 'our' leadership. Not for lack of trying, though. I did finally apply--the last holdout in my family--for US citizenship in 1997, and easily qualified. (I was quite ready to expound at length on those brain-dead questions they asked me about US history and government, but the harrassed INS bureaucrat was obviously pressed for time. *chortle*) But for one reason or another -- I've always been on the road on a vacation, or in Maui -- I've never been able to get sworn-in at the oath taking, and therefore am currently in limbo.

Anyway, in today's election-related weblog, I just wanted to say that I've always found this quadrennial exercise in democracy quite civilized. Not that Philippine elections were "barbaric," in contrast... just deeply different. And much more exciting, as a result. You see, the presidential elections we had there were rife with what we almost fondly called the elements of "Guns, Goons, and Gold." Elections could -- and were -- bought, positive results obtained by force, or by the more tame methods of ballot stuffing. Generally, Philippine presidential elections were successful, but I wouldn't put that up as a model of a working democracy. And let's not even discuss theocratic states like Iran, repressive tin-pot dictatorships, or the unmourned command economies of the former Communist East Bloc. What happens here in America works, as far as her presidential elections are concerned. The fact that it is far from perfect is irrelevant. The ship of state continues to sail, naysayers notwithstanding. For someone who grew up in a repressive dictatorship (explicitly supported by the United States, incidentally), that normalcy is a good thing.

Ahoy: Fletcher, Quad, Ozzie, Spark?, Trev, and whomever else I talked presidential politics with, around a month and a half ago... remember what I said about Florida? *chuckle* And indeed, it is coming down to who wins that state. It's 8 p.m. Hawaii time, and by the time most of you read this weblog, you will know who won the presidency. But what I said then--with a good deal of prescience and clairvoyancy, I might add--was that if, on election night, you knew who won Florida in the early going you could then turn off your tv sets as whoever won that state would win the presidency. Well, that's kinda what's happening now. Florida was called early for Gore -- erroneously, as now seems the case, as it's still definitely a toss-up. Bush could still win the election semi-handily (FL plus a couple others) but it hinges right now on that particular state.

Now, it seems to me that most readers of this weblog are politically Democratic (either inherently, or by choice), so if Bush wins there will be a lot of gloomy readers of this space. Well folks, just read the above carefully and consider this: whether or not this amazing country hews rightwards or leftwards in the coming 4 to 8 years, it's still a lot better than living under a despot, or a monarchy, or a theocracy. So what if a President Dubya stacks the Supreme Court with Neanderthal judges who might strike down, say, Roe v. Wade? That's still a far cry from living in a system in which death, disillusionment, and dire poverty are daily constants. And not just in general either, but perpetrated BY the government and as a consequence OF that government. So count your blessings, donkey lovers. *lol* You have many. Anyway, just my .02 worth, as a kibbitzer on the political scene.

Talkback...

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