First of all I would like to congratulate President Obama for his victory on Tuesday night.And now, before I go any further, know this about me: I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. In politics, I support whoever shares my basic principles, values and hopes or comes the closest to sharing them.
In the country where I am allowed to vote, Switzerland, I don’t blindly vote for one party, but I look for whoever brings the best ideas, ideals and principles to the table. In America, as well as in Switzerland, to 60%- 70% I tend to agree with one party, but believe me when I say, that I know, recognise and respect a good principle or idea when I hear it, coming from really any party at all! Having said all of this, I will now make an attempt to explain my state of mind during election day, the day after and today (two days after).
My election day was probably the same as everyone elses in America with one exception. I had to stay up until 5 am to follow the news, when at 7 am I had to be at work (Switzerland is 6 hours ahead of the east cost). At 5 am I finally decided to go get 2 hours of sleep before having to be at work again, not knowing for sure who had won. My nerves had been on edge during the whole day and night. By 5 am I was a complete mess!
Before going to work I made sure to check for the final results and find out who would be the next President of the United States. Turning on my computer and going on the internet felt exactly the same way, as when I turned on my computer about a year ago to go check my results for some very important exams. It almost felt like my life depended on it. All nervous, sweaty and with some trouble breathing I finally saw that Obama had been re-elected!
Anyone who has been reading my blog knows that I criticise Obama for quite a few things he’s done over the last four years and that criticism is not about to end. But here is why this election was so personal and emotional to me. As a progressive thinking woman, my core conviction didn’t really give me a choice in this election. To me, this election was not about the economy. I don’t live in America at this point, so this might not be such a big surprise. This election to me was about a woman’s right to choose, my homosexual friends being able to marry who they love, young people like me who don’t come from wealthy families to have a faire chance at getting a college or university degree, campaign finance reform, immigration reform and last but not least about health care.
I took the health care system in Switzerland and Germany (where I’ve lived for the last 6 years) for granted until the whole fight over Obamacare began. And then I started to realise what it means to live in a country where your basic health care rights are not even up for debate!
Anyway. The day after the election I had a normal work day and that was tough. I couldn’t talk to anyone about it because no one I work with really knew about the election much less cared about it at all. I felt very emotional all day. And then in the evening I was finally able to go out for some victory drinks with friends from Romania and Texas and talk about everything I had been keeping in all day.
Today, two days after the election, reality has sunken back in. While I am still eternally grateful for the choice the majority of Americans made on Tuesday, I am also painfully aware of the fact that politics WILL continue as usual. Obama is still the polarizing African-American President he was for the last four years. Many people actually hate this man with a passion and that isn’t about to change either.
So here is a message from me, Clarissa Frankfurt, to the Republican Party and every Republican who is feeling devastated and disappointed after this election:
Prior to the formation of the conservative coalition, which helped realign the Democratic and Republican party ideologies in the mid-1960s, the party historically advocated classical liberalism, paleoconservatism, and progressivism. Many of the ideas and ideals that this party was founded on I appreciate very much. The Republican Party has been on the right side of history many times before, but you should know that you are no longer this party. You want to fight extremists over seas and yet you allowed for extremist to take over your party a few years ago. You should know that you are not only letting people like me down, but also your very own and by that I mean Republicans who do not share the extreme views of the Tea Party. It is your responsibility to separate yourselves from the extreme movement that is polarizing America. Please, find your way back to your own values! Do it for the sake of Democracy in your own country!…
Let me just explain what I mean by that: The Republican Party is still in control of the House of Representatives and it shouldn’t be any other way. Because in a real Democracy a Government cannot be run by one party only. Probably the two most important aspects of a Democracy are the protection of minorities (religious, ethnical and yes, also political) and the Opposition in the Government. Your role as the Opposition in your Government is one that comes with great responsibility. It is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. America wouldn’t be half the Democracy if there wasn’t a strong Opposition. When I said before that being the Opposition is a responsibility, I ment that! What is obviously not meant by that is to make it impossible for the President to do his job. A serious Opposition cannot block everything they disagree with, otherwise Democracies all over the world wouldn’t even function. Obviously there is a difference in ideology. But if the Ruling Party and the Opposition take their responsibility serious everything that needs to get that can get done. Just to state the obvious: The Opposition will most of the time not have it their way and that doesn’t give them the right to make it impossible for the Ruling Party to govern the country. Because as a Democracy will have it, the Opposition will have it their way once they are elected to be the Ruling Party!!!
Political ideas and evaluations of a Law student/non politician! 