Being from a country that's been a democracy for many hundreds of years, you would imagine that experiencing an American election first hand wouldn't be too stressful or perplexing an affair. Surely not compared to someone from a country like China, where the ability to choose your leader is a crazy foreign concept, right?
WRONG!
My god hasn't this election been soul crushing?
As I'm not a racist, sexist, uneducated, short tempered, xenophobic blob of a person there're no prizes for guessing which candidate I'm routing for. Yes, I also work in the creative industry, am young and possess all the other personality traits of a typical lefty. (Speaking of lefties, one of the worst things about this election, for me as a left hander, is that both candidates are right handed. The only other right handed president I've lived through is George W Bush, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence.)
My being left wing and British has had some strange effects on my outlook of the election, however. Before last year, I would have wholeheartedly put my support behind Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary voting stage, and in many ways my own political opinions align very strongly to his; however, for months, as my wife was dragging me to Bernie rallies and cheering whenever she saw the curmudgeonly socialist on the TV, I was saying that registered democrats should vote for Hillary.
Why?
Well, it's simple. Several months before I emigrated, I saw the British Conservative Party win a general election with a razor thin majority. This may not sound like a great feat, but it meant that the conservatives were able to ditch the coalition they'd formed with the really left wing Liberal Democrat party in the prior election. Since then, there's been Brexit, tax cuts for the rich and a series of laws that have made poorer people struggle. My view was “if only the Labour Party had convinced more moderate people to vote for them!”
Therefore, as most people my age were willing on Sanders the septuagenarian savior to prevail, I was saying that it wouldn't work in the general election. I was of the opinion that we needed someone who could get support from right wingers as well. I say “was” of the opinion, as I'm not sure whether I still am...
The Rocky Road to the Finish
My confidence has, admittedly, been rocked over the last year. My personal opinion of Hillary Clinton is that she's a very strong, committed and level headed person. The perfect person to lead America. Most Americans, as I've come to learn, have an overly negative opinion of her.
Still, I was sure of her ability to win, and was buoyed by her incredible debate performances and the series of terrible news stories that came out about Trump.
For most of October, I was a very happy man, seeing an incredible woman trailblazing her way to the Oval Office.
And then the FBI Reopened its Case.
I literally felt devastated. It happened during a highly stressful time, as I was moving that weekend, and was being strung along by my broker as to when I would get the keys to my new apartment. May sound trivial, but all combined it was too much. I started panicking terribly.
The Future is Now!
Now, the email case has been thrown out and I'm happily moved in to my new apartment; things are looking positive. Hillary Clinton is ahead in the polls, and this time tomorrow I should not be worrying
Except, of course by being British I know better than anyone that the polls can be wrong. They were for both the Brexit vote and the last British general election.
And I hope they are wrong. I hope that Clinton has much more support than is being reported. I know Trump is claiming that he thinks that there are lots of silent voters for him, who do not wish to publicly voice their intentions. I think the same argument could be equally well made that the same is true for Clinton. Lots of right wing people aren't saying it, but they're wanting anybody but Trump.
It could be me who's wrong, of course. But I hope not.
Obviously, I don't have a vote. It's a little disconcerting to be surrounded by something I have no say in, but at the end of the day I'm hoping the people make the right choice.