Election Euphoria
Once in a lifetime…
This photo was taken by photographer Daphne Johnson as we entered the Kurhaus Hotel along with my friend Lisa for the “Who’s the President?” Breakfast just before 5:00 a.m. CET.
At that moment, it felt like a dream. Unfortunately, once inside, the mixed crowd’ s level of enthusiasm was a buzz kill; mild, not wild. I had expected more from the crowd of over 1,000 extremely early risers. We were among the last to leave, unsure what to do next? What to do with yourself when your dream has come true? When the world has changed? When everyone else is going on about their business, to work, to school, etc.?
I would have given anything to experience this momentous occasion at Grant Park. (I had been sulking in the office the day before when Barack didn’t call to invite me). The big screens in the hotel showed people filling the streets in cities across the US. It was a movement and I longed to be part of it. Unable to assemble enough people for a street parade in Scheveningen, despite having some big decorations from the event in our possession, we proceeded to our office for a Champagne toast. Even with a nice bottle of Gossett, it was difficult to entice people away from their Wednesday morning work routine.
Going through the day in a daze, I ended up spending a lot of time in the car. Wanting to be in motion, I called the babysitter to say I’d pick up my son from school and offered my husband a lift to the airport. Proudly sporting my Obama Gear and tireless grin, I encountered the change on the streets. People were making eye contact and even smiling. This is not done in the Netherlands! (Maybe it was my cheesy plastic stars and stripes hat that made them smile?)
The biggest and most surprising response came from the parents at the French school. As a group they are not overtly friendly, but there were cheers and congratulations all around from people I’ve never met before! It was electric and it seemed that just by seeing me (a token American) there at that moment, they felt connected to the day.
One mother told me that she had watched the election results that morning before school with her son instead of cartoons. She was explaining about Barack Obama during his speech when the boy suddenly got very excited and said, “Mama, look he smiled at me!” When a five year old French boy who doesn’t even speak English, sees Barack Obama for the first time and believes that Barack Obama is speaking directly to him, it makes perfect sense. Barack Obama has broken through the noise and reached people of all races and nationalities in a way that no one else has ever done, not in my lifetime!
The Ballot Box & Election Predictions
Signed, Sealed and Delivered?
Today is the day we have all been waiting for…nearly 150 million Americans will cast their ballots to elect their next President while the world watches and waits. If you were to ask more than 50 Americans living here in the Netherlands how the voting process works, you could easily get more than 50 different answers; depending on the state in which they are registered to vote and how confused they are about the process. Each state holds its own election and makes its own rules; which can lead to absurdities (Florida) that you would never expect in a developed country.
It is estimated that 2 million Americans living abroad have already voted in this election. My vote counts! As a former resident of Missouri, I am registered there and it is one of the critical swing states. As you can see from the photo, I have cast my absentee ballot with the assistance of my 4 year old son. He asked if he could write Barack Obama’s name on the ballot, but was less interested in the various propositions on the ballot covering everything from gambling, alternative energy and sales tax. There were also candidates for MO state officials and the re-election of 18 judges. It is a challenge to get voters to the polls, so they are bombarded once in the voting booth with issues they often are not prepared to decide. Imagine the famously undecided voters we hear about every day; if they are still undecided at this point about their vote for president after a historic two and a half year campaign, they couldn’t possibly make twenty or thirty additional choices on the same day! This is one of the factors leading to extremely long lines. Luckily, early voting has been legalized in 35 states, with an estimated 24 million voters participating.
Many people are simply anxious for the election to be done and over with. My French husband may fall into this category. He is extremely interested in the election and very supportive, but he will undoubtedly be relieved when I stop dressing the entire family in Obama gear, take the campaign signs out of the windows (we live on a high visibility street) and stop pulling all-nighters to catch the convention and debate coverage. He used to refer to me as a Europeanized American, but has been a little surprised how publicly I have “come out” during this campaign. I know that I am not alone among Americans Abroad in my excitement about the prospect of being represented by a leader we can be proud of instead of ashamed of. My husband may also be concerned that I am overly optimistic, but I hope he has not made an appointment on my behalf at the French Consulate for a passport just yet, because I believe that Barack Obama has connected with Americans in a way that will not only deliver the votes, but inspire the nation beyond the election.
P.S. Every day the pollsters call Missouri a different shade of pink or lavender, but I even believe that Missouri will go Blue!! I am extremely proud of my Mom who has been volunteering and working hard going door to door for Obama in St. Louis- Shirley Faust is a true Obama Mama!!
The Tranquility of Swimming in the Sea of Socialism
My conservative brother accuses me of being a “Liberal”. He pronounces the word in a disgusted manner that can only be mastered through intensive training; consisting of prolonged exposure to Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly on Fox News. He recently went a step further and blamed my continued residence in a socialist country (the Netherlands) for completely destroying my sensibilities. If he was familiar with the French political system, he would be horrified to realize that my husband was raised a little to the left of the socialist party! Yes, my world view has definitely been altered since I moved away from the Midwest of the US, and broadened.
Now, as we wake up to find the US and global financial markets plunging deeper into crisis each morning, I would like to point out a distinct difference in experiencing this financial crisis while living in the Netherlands. Yes, my personal financial future is impacted;my savings and investment accounts are in US banks and my husband’s retirement fund dwindles each day along with the CAC 40 in Paris. Our mortgage is held by one of the Dutch banks, which are also in trouble and soon likely to consolidate into few survivors. Yet, we have not been checking our portfolios obsessively and instead have a surprising sense of calm.
While the chaos continues, the state of the global financial markets is followed closely and widely discussed here in the Netherlands, but there is not the same sense of panic. This morning I watched yet another U.S. news broadcast online presenting a working couple with an empty refrigerator; saying that food had become a luxury and that they were unable to visit their children or elderly mother due to the road tolls and price of gas. In contrast to the horrors of the situation in the U.S., I do not worry that my neighbors will lose their homes and end up on the street, or wonder if the old woman sitting next to me on the tram can afford food or medicine. Here, students will not be denied higher education for financial reasons or go to school without food in their stomachs or lunch boxes, and people nearing retirement will still have a pension, regardless of the Dow Jones or Nasdaq.
No system is perfect. I admit that often at times, I do complain about the side effects of socialism; the sense of entitlement and the lack of ambition that can result from social policies. But there is something profoundly humane about ensuring that the basic needs of all people are met. The tranquility of swimming in the sea of socialism is a refuge from the volatility of the storm.
Filed under Politics, Social Issues | Comment (0)Why Sarah Palin Makes Women Cringe
John McCain may have thought he would win over women voters with his choice of Sarah Palin, but he was so wrong. Especially since all the housewives women who vote for whoever their husbands (or clergymen) tell them to, were already going to vote for McCain anyway. Free-thinking women wouldn’t dream of voting for a candidate like Palin, man or women, that stands strongly opposed to issues that improve the lives of women. Sarah Palin is no hero for modern women of any age!
I hesitate to get into politics on this blog, but I work every day to empower women and strive for them to succeed professionally and personally. Seeing every cliche about women play out with Sarah Palin’s nomination is beyond disappointing. The Sarah Palin choice was a giant step backward for women. When an unqualified and unsuitable woman candidate is put forward in any organization, the repercussions of her failure endure.
Sarah Palin was obviously a mistake, and since the shock value of the announcement wore off, she has only become a liability. I was convinced she would withdraw from the campaign before November for “Personal Reasons”, but the more that comes out against her, the more McCain digs in.
Here is a shortlist of the absurdities:
- The only thing Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have in common are their XX chromosomes. She doesn’t stand a chance of picking up HIllary supporters.
- The Republicans underestimate women, assuming any skirt woman will do.
- Women cope with a lot of guilt in their lives, but women will not feel guilty voting against this particular woman. Yes, we’ve waited a long time, but she is not “The One”.
- Sarah Palin is completely unqualified for this job or to be President, she would never have been considered if she was a man!
- The top quality of Sarah Palin’s that people recognize and agree on is that she is photogenic.
- Sarah Palin using her newborn with down syndrome as a badge of honor demonstrating her opposition to abortion in all circumstances, even incest and rape, is repulsive.
- Spinning the teenage pregnancy of her daughter into another anti-abortion story is really too much. I do not judge her daughter for getting pregnant, it only reinforces the fact that it should be a private choice without interference from a government of morality police.
- She does not represent Modern Women in her strong stance against birth control and her preaching of abstinence.
- Sarah Palin must have seemed like a safe pick because she married her sweetheart and is a mother of five. No chance of affairs or scandals? Not exactly. Investigation already pending…
- The biggest cringe factor is to see her standing on stage talking about shattering the glass ceiling, while if elected, she would single-handedly put the struggle for women’s rights back 40 years!
Finally, please throw her to the wolves! Why is everyone being so polite, nice and gentle with her? If she were a man, her lack of experience and incompetence would have been ripped to shreds. She is being presented as tough and rugged and as a gun enthusiast, she is even armed after all, so throw off the gloves andlet her take it like a real woman!
Filed under Blogging, Politics, Social Issues, The Mommy Wars, Women | Comments (6)
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