The result was as I expected

Here is why

Official polls are bullshit. That was proven yet again.

I watched dozens of unofficial and no doubt, unscientific polls conducted by youtubers in the lead-up.

The polls asked one question and one question only – Harris or Trump. They were also highly targeted. These youtubers polled the homeless as a cohort, drug addicts as another. They went in and polled Jewish, Latino, Muslim, Asian, African American and Indian communities. They polled more affluent areas, and they polled business owners.

Out of the dozens of such polls I watched, Harris won a single one, which was in a moderately affluent area.

Let that sink in. The party of the worker, the party that aspires to leave no one behind, could not get anywhere near a majority of votes from the homeless or the addicted let alone from various ethnic groups.

I saw the demolition that was coming.

So what are the issues for Democrats? They are in biblical proportions.

Let’s start with Clinton labelling Trump supporters as “deplorable”.

• Not only should no politician talk about fellow citizens in such terms, the term itself was adopted and owned by Trump supporters and united them even further.

• The use of social media, influencers and podcasters by the Trump campaign over the use of the mistrusted mainstream media and mainstream celebrities by the Dems.

• The perception of Biden continuity via the handing of the candidacy to Harris.

• More of the same policies. More of the same tinkering at the margins, More of the incrementalism. More neoliberal posturing.

• As a corollary to the above – zero boldness – zero backbone – zero acknowledgment of the real structural issues. A few crumbs for those who need bread.

The problems for the US in broader strokes

I have never been to the US and at this stage of my life, it’s looking less and less likely I will ever get there. I wish it were otherwise.

But that brings up the first issue. US isolationism. Whilst the Soviet Union made travel to other countries extremely difficult during the Cold War, the US had no need to place such restrictions (except for Cuba). Why? Because Americans are bombarded with messaging about loyalty, about being exceptional, about being the freest and the greatest, from the cradle to the grave. They are simultaneously kept largely in the dark about the rest of the world, and anything that seeps out about other countries is likely to be negative, mischaracterized and propagandistic. But even knowledge of their own country avoids many in the US.

It is well established that the most of rest of the world knows more about America than it’s own citizens do. And when it comes to knowledge of other countries,, it gets even worse. It is all part of a long long effort to dumb down the population, which benefits both sides.

What also benefits both sides is your electoral system. Sorry, but in all honesty, it is a fucking shambles and a fucking disgrace. You rightly got rid of the outdated system of rule by monarchy, but cling desperately to the long outdated electoral college. And that is not an endorsement of “first past the post”. Proportional representation as in Europe or automatic runoffs by ordering you preferences, as in Australia, will both give you broader coalitions, and provide incentives to become less extreme and polarized.

But I digress. In 1989, only 3% of US citizens had a passport. That, thankfully, has grown to over 40% now. But compare that to Britain, where 87% of people own a passport, or even here in Australia where we have to deal with the tyranny of distance, yet passport ownership hovers at around 57%.

A system that provides more money and better outcomes in schools in wealthy areas, that does not respect its educators, or provide adequate compensatory salaries, a society that defines you by your career or job… are all part of the cultural aspects that drag you down – that dumb you down, along with the lack of studies of other countries and lack of news regarding other countries.

Here is what you might find by travelling

This is an American living in New Zealand. There are many many similar stories being told on youtube.

To expand on her point about “freedom”:

In the US, you have the freedom to carry a gun, you have the freedom to enjoy mass consumerism, the freedom to… lots of things.

In the rest of the world, freedom is defined differently. Not the freedom TO, but the freedom FROM – from hunger, from homelessness, from the fear of the safety of your kids at school, from fear you can’t afford to be injured in an accident, or get cancer. This type of freedom is defined in the US as “socialism” – a lie exposed by those who venture out and see it and experience it for themselves.

I love my county – but I was born here by random chance. Most other Australians also love this country…. but you would have a great deal of difficulty finding anyone here who knows more than the first line of the national anthem. We don’t care. Patriotism is not a way of life. And life itself is not a team sport where you constantly root for your “team” or demonize the “other”. The exception is sport. But even as we cheer for our own, wave the flag, and sing Sweet Caroline (don’t ask me why, but what a great song!) we always respect the other side.

I hope the Trump administration does well. I hope he leaves Caroline Kennedy here as the US Ambassador. I hope he opens the remaining JFK files. I hope he ends the Ukraine War and solves the Middle East humanitarian crisis. But more than anything, I hope he leaves office with the US in better shape than it currently is in. That would be good for the entire world.

My guess is that it all comes down to how you define the word “Great” in all the sloganeering. Some definitions may contain traces of nuts.

Meanwhile, much love to all in the US

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