American Politics
I am a Canadian citizens, and therefore I have no legal right to have an opinion on the USA political scene. But, truthfully, I’ve always had an opinion. How can I not? Canadian media is inundated with USA politics, USA television shows, USA sports and USA news. And, I’m generally pretty opinionated anyways.
But in the last few months, my opinion on the USA political arena seems to matter to much more to me then it ever did before. Now, as the mother to a child who is a dual citizen of Canada and USA, I am deeply tied to the happenings of my neighbour to the south.
As my son is an American citizen, I feel deeply connected to USA politics. As I am not a USA citizen I will never have a right to vote in the USA, but when my son is old enough, he will have that right. (As an aside, I do vote in every election in Canada. I believe it is a democratic right that I will always exercise). So, I’m watching very closely from the sidelines and now I find myself:
- Paying more attention to USA politics and upcoming election then I ever have before. (Mind you, it’s hard to ignore Trump no matter how hard I try).
- Feeling deeply invested in the USA, in a way that I didn’t realize I would be. I desperately want my son to be a citizen of two countries that value and respect all human life.
- Not so secretly hoping the USA doesn’t turn its back on the very foundation of a democratic country that values equality.
The one thing I know is that no matter the outcome of the upcoming USA election, my son will be brought up to value democracy as a basic human right. My son will learn about both Canada and USA. He will learn about both counties histories, past leaders, and great thinkers. He will learn about their respective successes and failures.
But even more, my son will be brought up learning about compassion and tolerance. He will learn about respect and love.
Hate and fear mongering will not be part of our lives. I simply wont live that way.
While my son has no ability to vote in either country right now (he is just an infant after all), he will one day. He is in a unique position where he can help positively influence the paths of two amazing counties, and I will encourage him to do so.
And so in what is quite possibly a very Canadian statement, no matter how he chooses to vote, my son will be brought up knowing the power of sunny ways*, and the power of positivity.
* Sunny ways is a term used by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in approximately 1896 and Justin Trodeau in 2015 in respect to overcoming differences by coming together.
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As a dual citizen (and Evie is too) the election stuff down there has me both hopeful (Bernie!) and absolutely gutted and horrified (Trump, Cruz). It scares me how many millions of people down there support a monster like Trump. It scares me because it *will* affect our lives if he becomes president, indirectly at the very least. It also scares me because so many people support his hateful, homophobic, misogynistic, racist “beliefs” (I don’t even know if he actually feels this way – I’m not even convinced he really wants the Presidency).
Anyway – thankful we live in Canada where tolerance & diversity are celebrated!
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I think what scares me the most is how many people appear to support Trump. I get that everyone has different opinions (as they should), but the Trump phenomenon has really highlighted how many people are supporting this hateful, homophobic, misogynistic, racist, rhetoric. I had been under the impression with recent supreme court rulings re equality was becoming a real thing in our modern day society. But maybe I was just being hopeful/naive? Either way, I refuse to stop being hopeful, and I cannot change the world, but I will always do my part to be tolerant, respectful and hopeful. Evelyn and Baby MPB deserve that! 🙂
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Oh my gosh it is a zoo over here right now. I have many close Republican friends who have all denounced Trump and are horrified. The oddest thing is I don’t know one single Trump supporter in my real life. I am kind of proud of that because no racist and bigoted jerks or at the very best narrow minded buffoons in my peer group. I guess it also makes me ‘out of touch’ with a lot of America. I will take that trade for this situation. I am still hopeful he will just be a small name in our history. I think he also wakes up the Republicans to tell them the party’s inability to be on the right side of equality ( gay and female rights etc) led them here in a way. Phew– that was a lot of political opinions sent your way. Guess I needed to vent :). Anyway- this American friend will do all I can with my vote to make your son proud of his American citizenship. Xo
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Vent away my friend! We all need to sometimes. More then anything I love that you said you will vote. Voting is a basic human right and if we don’t exercise that right we could lose it. So, while I desperately hope Trump doesn’t win, I hope more then anything that the current conversation drives more people to vote and be engaged in their country.
It sounds like you have an awesome peer group – which doesn’t surprise me in the least since you are awesome and awesome attracts awesome. 🙂
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Be prepared Canada, and it’s citizens…if the evil Trump actually makes it in, your country will be getting some extra citizenship requests. For real. Who would want to live in a country with an angry, hateful, playground bully running it? Not me…
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As far as I’m concerned, you are always welcome!! But, I truly hope the US population comes together and chooses not to go down a path of hate.
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I am terrified of Trump. That is all I can really say about American politics rights now.
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I get this. I really do.
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It’s pretty said when adults wouldn’t want their children watching some of the debates because of the way the adults are acting. 😦
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Yes, it truly is a sad state of affairs when our political leaders are behaving this poorly.
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Trudeau gives me hope that maybe someday the US can also elect someone so amazingly progressive – and who actually appears to walk his talk. We’re only – what – 40 years behind Canada socially?
I can’t imagine the fallout of a Drumpf presidency, especially for the rest of the world, but I hope hope hope that both parties would unite against him and make his presidency the least effective ever. I also hope hope hope that there simply aren’t a majority of hateful human beings in our country who would vote him into office.
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It’s pretty horrifying down here right now. I thought Bush was bad, but Trump takes it to a whole new level. It’s actually causing a lot of problems in my household right now because my in laws all support Trump and I want to keep my daughter as far away from all of those ignorant asshats as possible. We are spending the weekend with them, and dog help me if politics comes up. I will lose it on them.
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Oh gosh, I couldn’t imagine having to spend any extended time with true Trump supporters! I get that we all have different believes, but I simply do not support bigots and intolerance.
I will definitely be thinking of you all weekend!!
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thinking of you. I’m so sorry! 😦
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Oh my, I will send good thoughts your way that you all survive the weekend. The in laws and babies combo is tough enough to maneuver, but in-laws that are Trump supporters? Good luck to you all.
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I have a very republican family and have had to learn the art of the Very Loud Conversation Change over the years. Brainstorm a few innocuous/harmless topics beforehand and then when the conversation starts to veer towards politics, loudly and explicitly change the convo to a new topic. It’s not 100%, but I’ve found it’s decreased the yelling matches by quite a bit.
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That’s a really good idea. I’ll have to do some reading today and make a little list of newsworthy topics they might be able to relate to.
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Let me first say that I despise Trump. I am a libertarian through and through and as great as Bernie Sanders sounds, he scares me too because of his taxation plans. Our country is a republic, and the direction BOTH of those candidates lean, although completely different, denounces the definition of a republic.
With that said… I find this all very exciting, and here’s why. The people are speaking in this country, and we may not like what’s being said, but WE are SPEAKING. We are tired of the old GOP ways, we are tired of the democrats selling themselves as one thing and then being something else, we are tired of the same old thing. We are excited to see people who were “fringe” candidates get ahead. This was IMPOSSIBLE for Ron Paul 8 years ago, the media gave him no attention and had he been aggressive like Trump and Sanders, he would have probably dominated the discussion. I am excited to see the puppet candidates get a run for their money on both sides of the political spectrum. Just typing that made my heart speed up!
I like to look at this not as the tragedy that others do, but as a catalyst for real change in our political system. I think it will bring forth more candidates in the future who will be a better fit for us, WE THE PEOPLE, and not the political machine in Washington.
I truly believe that (sigh) Hillary Clinton will win in the general. Maybe that is what keeps my attitude more positive. I don’t know. But I see this as very exciting, even though I would not support either of the candidates making waves. Our country needs this.
AND – we need to recognize that we are not as accepting of all people as we like to say we are. The plethora of Trump supporters have shown us, the world, that Americans have a long way to go before we walk the walk. We are not this melting pot of goodness that we like to think we are. This election has made that clear, and that, to me, is another HUGE positive.
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You nailed it on the head here – WE ARE SPEAKING. And that, that is how we will continue to preserve our democratic countries. And to see people being engaged is phenomenal! Yes, I don’t agree with all the rhetoric, but I do agree with having conversations and those conversations are critical to well rounded societies.
I know I haven’t said it as much as i should lately, but Courtney, I adore your comments. No matter what you say you are thoughtful and thought provoking. And that’s awesome. Thank you so much! 🙂
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You don’t need to say that, but thank you! 🙂
You are very fortunate to live in a country that is more accepting of diversity and “be as you are, I don’t care.” I know it’s not perfect, and you have your own issues (like the long wait for medical procedures that the system doesn’t think are important), but Canada is for sure on the right track. I think we’re getting closer, but are still so far behind. I truly don’t think Trump will win. I may be ignorant, but I just don’t think it will happen. As long as that’s the case, we will get a little closer still in the next presidency. It’s the bigotry that I just don’t know what we do about here. Our kids are the least racist American children EVER, but the parents and grandparents still keep on with their rhetoric, and we can’t change those people. I’m at a loss.
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My husband and I have actually looked into moving to another country in the event Donald Trump somehow gets elected. Canada is actually on our list, as are a couple of Central American countries or somewhere in Scandinavia. But then I also feel like if all of the rational, educated people flee the country, the US just becomes even worse! And who is left to speak up for those who can’t afford to move somewhere else? But we are very afraid of what the future brings for us here.
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I’d love to live in a Scandinavian country!!
I too like to believe that the rational, educated people will step up and be involved in the conversation. I just would like to see more of that happening now before the election. But, I guess rational discourse is not nearly as good for tv ratings.
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It is terrifying. I only know one person who has been openly supportive of Trump, and she is my great-aunt who’s in her 70s. As much as I stronly disagree with her beliefs, I try to separate my feelings about her beliefs with my feelings towards her. From what I’ve seen from her, she’s an incredibly intelligent, loving and kind person, who I think is blinded in some way by Trump and the fear-based action that he’s sells- she does, after all, have a tendency to flock to sensationalism. I think it has opened my eyes to the systemic racism and overall hatred that exists in our country, especially among the older generations. But I do believe that the youth of this country is very world-embracing and cannot relate to the Trump campaign at all. And the problem is that these people don’t get out and vote. When my husband and I went separately to vote in the primaries, we both noticed that we were some of the only younger people at the polls. We’re 30/31. I saw one young boy, maybe 19-20, and everyone else at the packed KC hall was much older than me. When I asked my coworkers if they were going to vote, none of them knew how to – where, when, what to bring, etc…that was very eye opening and saddening to me. I am just praying that anyone other than Trump wins at this point.
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This election is scaring the crap out of me. Never in a million years did I think I’d be sad to see a Bush drop out of a presidential race. I agree, I don’t think Trump actually believes half of what he’s saying, but the number of people who are eating up his disgusting, hateful messages really makes me worry about the future of this country, and the world my son will grow up in.
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This election truly makes me want to move to a faraway island. Everyone is so mean and outrageous, it’s completely unbelievable. When I first learned that Trump was even running, I seriously thought that it was a joke. I think that the people of this country have truly forgotten exactly what the election is really about, and it’s really sad and scary.
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You should move to my faraway island (well, not an island at all, but still). Because that way we could go for coffee all the time! 🙂
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My dream is that Trump will announce tomorrow that this shitshow has been a joke. APRIL FOOLS AMERICA. Haha!
Not that Cruz is better.
I watched a video this morning of a guy wearing a “free hugs” shirt at a trump rally and (of course) being badgered and berated, with Trump supporters actually saying things like, “There is no love in the world” (gut wrenching) and then being hugged by basically everyone at a Sanders rally, where there was such joy and energy and positivity. I just sat there and sobbed through the whole thing. It’s scary because hate is contagious, and hate like what Trump (and the Republican Party) is selling sells fast. But the silver lining, I think, is that love can be contagious too. We have to choose love, we just have to.
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I find it interesting how places like where I live (near a major university) there are more Dem supporters. Everyone I know here is very much a Bernie supporter. We had an unbelievable amount of people at our democratic caucus. There were 7 people at the GOP caucus. Do I think it is a coincidence that people in the more educated parts of the country are Bernie supporters and people in the less educated parts of the country are trump supporters? I think not. The only people I know who support trump have barely graduated HS and have NeVer left the country or even the NJ/pa/NY area. So people with less education and less life experience outside of their little bubbles. It frightens me half to death what is going on here. There is a piece of land with my name on it in Nicaragua should Drumpf become our president! Ugh. It just keeps getting scarier.
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As you know, this is a topic I can’t stop myself from thinking and blogging about. I loved reading all these comments and now have to add my own.
There is no math that lets Trump become president. He has alienated the majority of minorities, women, and, let’s face it, informed people. The thing is – a lot of people are still amazingly uninformed. It is, after all, just the primaries. That means parties independently deciding who their boss will be.How people actually vote means very little in this process.So the voters are willing to vote “with their middle finger” – against their own party.
In the general election, everything is different. Suddenly it will become an issue what insane policies this candidate (Trump) is . . . inventing off the top of his head. Suddenly people will pivot to the question “Who is presidential?”
The Republican Party has been self-immolating for 10 years and they have no idea what they actually stand for anymore. Trump steps in and takes advantage of the chaos. In the very very very end, he might do the Republicans a favor. By destroying them. Making them reform.
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I agree with this comment 100%. I, too, believe that Trump is finally forcing the GOP to reform, and that is great. I also think that Sanders is the Democrats Ron Paul from 2008. He’s getting the old establishment a little fired up, paving the way for the next “fringe” Democrat to really make waves next time there’s a primary. It’s exciting!
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My stepfather is a Drumpf supporter, and it’s led to some very loud dinner table conversations. I loathe the man and everything he stands for, and I pity people who support him. I wish I was a dual citizen somewhere, anywhere, so I could leave much easier if he is elected. I don’t really think it will come to that, but the fact that he’s made it this far makes me embarrassed as a US citizen.
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I dont follow politics but i give Americans some credit. i doubt a country would like someone who has filed for bankruptcy before to run for presidency and actually win it. And even Trump does win, as a democratic country, he does not have a free hand, things wont change. My only concern is Republicans have always gone to war, another war will destroy America and the world’s economy.
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I love this!!!! I love that you are willing to learn about all of this for your son!! We are hoping our child will be born here in the US and therefore too would have dual citizenship. I have learned a lot about US politics the past three years of living here and everyday is a school day on this front!!! We got rid of our cable TV, one of the reasons was the awful political adverts. Just bottom of the barrel stuff. It made me sick to watch. Honestly I have learned most of my understanding of US politics from the West Wing TV show-have you seen that?!?
Chris and I are not allowed to vote even though we pay taxes and can buy a house here and live here like we are residents. I don’t know who I would vote for if I could vote, but I do know who I wouldn’t be voting for!!! But I can say that It definitely wouldn’t be Trump because I’d be voting myself out of the country!!! 🤔
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I’m fairly certain you know where I stand with all this based on a blog I wrote not too long ago.
I live in South Carolina, which is in an area that the US calls the “Bible Belt.” We’re the state that caused things like the civil war because we weren’t allowed to keep the racist ideals we loved so much. Please not the sarcasm in the use of the word “we.”
The idea of any Republican (Trump or Cruz or anyone else in that same ‘party’) absolutely terrifies me. They are against everything I am as a human, not just what I believe in, but everything I am and everything my closest friend-family is. They are threatening to *literally* destroy my family.
I do, however, feel very confident in this election that a non-republican will be elected. I’m “Anybody but a Republican.” Personally, I would love for Sanders to win; however, I’ll vote for Clinton if it comes down to it. I think Trump may make that whole GOP group self-implode. I’ve been paying very close attention to everything, and I’m actually a little excited to see where this all goes. There’s been talk about the GOP staging a coup if Trump gets the nomination, in which they would band together and run a third party candidate (The talk is that it’ll be Mitt Romney, even though he has said he wouldn’t run).
It’s definitely been an interesting elections season.
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I think it’s so great that you’re following politics in both countries. This is the first election I have truly paid attention to in my life, mainly because it’s so unbelievable. When I first heard Trump was running I though “yeah right, that’ll never happen” and now look how far he’s gotten. I guess I was just blind to see how many hateful people actually live in the US.
Being from a liberal and inclusive area in California, it’s just so hard for me to understand that there are people who support such hateful politics. It’s been a real eye opener and it just shows how much further we have to go to move toward acceptance (or just tolerance for goodness sake). I am hopeful that he will not win this election.
I really enjoyed reading the comments everyone made on this blog post. Thanks for another great topic!
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I hope to God and the Universe that your son doesn’t have to see a day in which Donald Trump is an American president.
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So… I don’t really have an opinion on Trump (other than he’s obviously perpetuating some kind of elaborate April Fool) but what I am interested in is your son’s citizenship status. I always thought that adoptees lost their first citizenship – I am only British and my British certificate of adoption supersedes my [other nationality] birth certificate. I have a British translation of my birth certificate as well as the original. My understanding is that adoptees take on the adoptive nationality, but maybe that’s a British thing? Also there is all the adoptee rights stuff going on in the US now with regard to original birth certificates and their rights to see them. Does your son have dual nationality? That’s cool if he does. I am fairly sure I wouldn’t be allowed to vote in the country of my birth.
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I’m so worried about our country right now. I don’t know any Trump supporters, but they are obviously around. I’m horrified that his rhetoric of hate and fear resounds with so many Americans. He really reminds me of the president in the movie Idiocracy. I would be greatly saddened if our country really elects this man. To the horror of my conservative parents, I am feeling the Bern and can’t wait to vote in the CA primary.
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Get ready to help us find J a teaching job near you if Trump gets elected because we are out of here if that happens!!!
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