Congratulations, America. Please don't mess this up.
Congratulations, America. You made it to Election Day without killing each other. I'm proud of you. It sounds silly, but the tension between Republicans and Democrats, neighbours and family members made the news even here on the other side of the world. It's all because, despite having no say in who will be the next President of the United States, the outcome of this election is going to affect us greatly.
The top story on the national news every night for months has been about the US election. Australia has plenty of influences from the United States. We get a lot of your music, movies and TV. American pop culture products are part of our culture now, and have been since at least the end of World War II.
Prior to World War II, Australia's main 'parental' influence was Britain. Sure, we became our own nation in 1901, but the influence of the home land was strong. Even now, Britain holds a strong influence over Australia despite being on the other side of the world. Our official head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. But when Australia was used as a launching point for the Pacific theatre of World War II, American soldiers came to stay and their influence never left.
This little history tidbit is important to know to understand why the US Presidential Election is important to Australia.
Australia is a Western nation with (excluding New Zealand) Asian neighbours. Australia is still an incredibly young nation who wants to make its mark on the world, but who looks to its "parents" for guidance. Australia looks to its mother, Britain, and to its father, America, for cues on where to tread, what to say about certain issues and how to behave on the world stage. Australia's federal policies, domestic and foreign, on many, many issues depend on who is in charge of the country and how much they want to please their "parents."
Our former Prime Minister, John Howard, was not a very strong leader. He did what he thought was good for the country, but that meant getting in good with the leaders of Great Britain and the United States. So, for the last eight years especially, you can imagine that it hasn't been a very pleasant experience.
President Bush demanded loyalty without giving anything in return. He pointed to Afghanistan and Iraq and said "go fetch" and John Howard complied without argument, but when Mr Howard asked for help with East Timor (our closest neighbour, who were having issues maintaining their independence from Indonesia), the response was basically "not our problem." Domestic, especially economic, policies have been pushed in the direction of pleasing the US.
Australia now has a new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who is not perfect, but not as willing to bow to the President of the United States. Despite that, Australia's way of life will continue to be heavily influenced by whoever is the leader of the United States. That's not something that can change any time soon. Neither is the way Australian politics are run (lousily). But something is about to change. It may be on the other side of the world, but the ramifications are going to ring loud and clear over here.
So over the coming hours and maybe days, I'm watching the Presidential race closely. Either way, I will be glad to see President Bush gone. It's not fun to be on the receiving end of bullying and peer pressure.
I don't know if John McCain, if he becomes President, will follow in President Bush's footsteps with a foreign policy that considers other nations as less than the United States and likes to threaten and throw their weight around in order to get compliance. But I do know that the people he hangs around are okay with that behaviour. I'm not okay with it. I don't know if Barack Obama, if he becomes President, will make the world a better place. I know he has the best of intentions to make the United States a better place, and that's a start. I don't know if his foreign policy will finally have the United States treat its allies with the dignity and respect that the last eight years have been lacking. I don't know this, but I believe he will try.
I can't vote in this election, but it matters to me a great deal. I feel the anxiousness that so many Americans feel even though thousands of kilometres separate us. This election isn't just important to the United States. It's important to a good portion of the world.
I'm joining the thousands, possibly millions of people around the world murmuring quietly, nervously, "please don't mess this up."
There's still time to vote. You won't just have a say in how your own nation's direction for the next four years, and possibly longer. You have the power to help shape the world.
Please don't mess this up.
The top story on the national news every night for months has been about the US election. Australia has plenty of influences from the United States. We get a lot of your music, movies and TV. American pop culture products are part of our culture now, and have been since at least the end of World War II.
Prior to World War II, Australia's main 'parental' influence was Britain. Sure, we became our own nation in 1901, but the influence of the home land was strong. Even now, Britain holds a strong influence over Australia despite being on the other side of the world. Our official head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. But when Australia was used as a launching point for the Pacific theatre of World War II, American soldiers came to stay and their influence never left.
This little history tidbit is important to know to understand why the US Presidential Election is important to Australia.
Australia is a Western nation with (excluding New Zealand) Asian neighbours. Australia is still an incredibly young nation who wants to make its mark on the world, but who looks to its "parents" for guidance. Australia looks to its mother, Britain, and to its father, America, for cues on where to tread, what to say about certain issues and how to behave on the world stage. Australia's federal policies, domestic and foreign, on many, many issues depend on who is in charge of the country and how much they want to please their "parents."
Our former Prime Minister, John Howard, was not a very strong leader. He did what he thought was good for the country, but that meant getting in good with the leaders of Great Britain and the United States. So, for the last eight years especially, you can imagine that it hasn't been a very pleasant experience.
President Bush demanded loyalty without giving anything in return. He pointed to Afghanistan and Iraq and said "go fetch" and John Howard complied without argument, but when Mr Howard asked for help with East Timor (our closest neighbour, who were having issues maintaining their independence from Indonesia), the response was basically "not our problem." Domestic, especially economic, policies have been pushed in the direction of pleasing the US.
Australia now has a new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who is not perfect, but not as willing to bow to the President of the United States. Despite that, Australia's way of life will continue to be heavily influenced by whoever is the leader of the United States. That's not something that can change any time soon. Neither is the way Australian politics are run (lousily). But something is about to change. It may be on the other side of the world, but the ramifications are going to ring loud and clear over here.
So over the coming hours and maybe days, I'm watching the Presidential race closely. Either way, I will be glad to see President Bush gone. It's not fun to be on the receiving end of bullying and peer pressure.
I don't know if John McCain, if he becomes President, will follow in President Bush's footsteps with a foreign policy that considers other nations as less than the United States and likes to threaten and throw their weight around in order to get compliance. But I do know that the people he hangs around are okay with that behaviour. I'm not okay with it. I don't know if Barack Obama, if he becomes President, will make the world a better place. I know he has the best of intentions to make the United States a better place, and that's a start. I don't know if his foreign policy will finally have the United States treat its allies with the dignity and respect that the last eight years have been lacking. I don't know this, but I believe he will try.
I can't vote in this election, but it matters to me a great deal. I feel the anxiousness that so many Americans feel even though thousands of kilometres separate us. This election isn't just important to the United States. It's important to a good portion of the world.
I'm joining the thousands, possibly millions of people around the world murmuring quietly, nervously, "please don't mess this up."
There's still time to vote. You won't just have a say in how your own nation's direction for the next four years, and possibly longer. You have the power to help shape the world.
Please don't mess this up.