Before leaving the United States, I was never too involved in politics. I only voted once, and was generally pretty content to let the whole convoluted system just work itself out as it would- of course, criticizing it every step of the way (daresay I was part of the problem, but that's another topic). The only time I actually bothered to even dip into the monstrosity that is the American political system was when religion got involved-- above all things, I have always been a staunch believer in and defender of the separation of church and state. That is the one topic that always has (and probably always will) get my nose out of joint.
At any rate, moving to Madagascar has changed my political views... Or rather, the way in which I view politics. Not an ideological change, per say, but a change in the way I analyze the system, the way in which I judge what makes a candidate "good".
Before Madagascar, I (being a product of my generation and history) was very angry at people who advocated or even mentioned that the United States should get involved in foreign affairs. That seems a little extreme, and to be fair, it probably was. But hey, I was a kid in high school who really hadn't thought these things through. All I knew was that people (people I knew, my family, friends and friends' family) were being sent abroad in order to kill other people in the name of democracy- and they weren't returning. So it made me angry when I would hear phrases like "Americans have a responsibility to the rest of the world" or "We need to make democracy a reality for every country", etc. etc. As a teenager, my views about politics pretty much were limited to 'why don't we just leave the rest of the damn world alone and focus on our own problems? We seem to be messing stuff up more often than not, why can't we just keep our noses out of it?'
But now that I've moved abroad, it's stunning to me to see how much my views have changed- in spite of the fact that I'm not really happy about it. Inside, I'm still that kid, mad about the war that killed so many who wants nothing more than to hole up in my own borders and focus on ourselves. Because let's face it: we got plenty of our own problems without getting entrenched in everyone else's, too.
Unfortunately for me, I have friends in the world now. I know people in the world.
And they make some pretty good points about American foreign policy.
In Madagascar, for example, I have many friends who have told me "if it weren't for the foreign aid that your government gives, many Malagasy would be dead". I have an incredibly smart friend, better versed in American politics than I am, who has challenged me on almost all of my views regarding the 2016 political candidates.
Living in Madagascar has forced me to accept the fact that America, and American politics, is vastly intertwined with the world at large. Other countries look to America, other countries depend on America, and who we elect has far-reaching effects on the entire world. Regardless of how I feel about this, a fact it remains. I can't remain content to say "don't worry about foreign policy- don't get involved; just fix our own problems and keep our nose out of it".
Do you know that people around the globe, as far as Madagascar, are following the election proceedings in America right now? Do you know that people worldwide are reading up on our presidential candidates, are following the debates, are having their own debates on Clinton vs. Sanders, on Trump and the GOP?
Do you know that the world is watching?
Do you know that the world is invested in our politics?
Thus far, I have managed to avoid speaking about one particular candidate over another. I'm not certain where my loyalties lie in the 2016 election; this new, inconvenient realization about foreign policy has forced me to reexamine our candidates.
But I will say this- we need to strongly, carefully consider the implications of electing each candidate...both for ourselves, and for the world. What would a president Trump do if unleashed on the world? How do you see another Clinton presidency shaping the world? What would a Sanders presidency mean? How about Cruz in office?
We need to seriously, solemnly weigh these considerations in with our others-- in addition to religious beliefs, in addition to feminist beliefs, in addition to economic beliefs... We need to ask "how does the world fit into all of this?"
Because the world is watching.
And it is depending on us to make the best choice.
