My first allegiance is not to democracy

I’ve never been very in to politics, I grapple every election to really ‘get it’ and so although interesting, I probably cannot talk very informatively on how to vote. Keep this is mind as you read. Thankfully I’m married to a man who enjoys explaining such things. The United States election should be of even less interest me. Oddly enough since I started watching the West Wing (of which I am unashamedly a huge fan) and demanding small explanations, and as the media across the world hones in on these two very different candidates it’s become increasingly intriguing.

At uni we’ve talked about how their branding strategies differ, about how they’ve chosen to represent themselves and there is of course the ridiculous amount of money that could be spent on fixing real problems rather than campaigning. Sometimes it feels a bit of a sham.

I do think the following:

It should be compulsory to vote and I’m really glad I live in a country that demands it.

The world is not black and white.

At least locally if Barack Obama doesn’t manage to hold the spot, a ton of America’s credibility will fly right out the window. I’m not sure what it is, perhaps the opportunity to make such a clear statement about the past, or perhaps it’s just that from here one candidate seems to outweigh the other so much, that the other might as well not be running. But then where would be democracy?

As I peruse the countryless internet, I’ve come across a few things related to the election that I think are interesting:

20-somethings and Obama

Why I’m a Democrat

and best still, you can go and download Derek Webb’s album Mockingbird for free, which has a very interesting spoken bonus track about voting (not endorsing either candidate). Decent CD too (I got it the first time around), interesting lyrics. If nothing else, listen to, A New Law.

Please vote.

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