Election from Afar

It’s been a long run.

It was a year and a half ago in Taipei that a friend and I were first disparaging Donald Trump’s campaign, at that time still in its laughable infancy. Since then I’ve spent time at home, worked for a local granola company, moved to Ireland, studied the fiddle, learned some sean nós dance, vacationed in Copenhagen, made new friends, traveled through St. Petersburg and the Baltics, saw old friends in Vienna, flew back to Taiwan, spent several months teaching, and only now, now, are we at the day of the final decision.

It’s always seemed slightly unfair to me that only Americans have the right and responsibility to choose our president, when the results of our choice have international ramifications. People from other countries follow our elections with bated breath, unable to have any say in the matter.

Though they do what they can:

At a restaurant on Inis Mór in Ireland

At a night market in Tainan, Taiwan

While I was still in school during George W. Bush’s presidency, my older sister spent time in Europe, and she used to regale the family with stories of being shouted down in the street or kicked out of cabs, simply for being an American under President Bush.

President Obama, however, gets us a much happier reception internationally. In the markets of Vienna, my American status was greeted by food vendors with, “Obama? I love Obama!” My students in Taiwan all know him by name, and despite the fact that they probably know nothing about him or his policies, they all think he’s awesome. While it’s unfair to base his international reputation on nothing more than charisma, it does speak well of him that he’s able to garner respect not only as a leader but as a human being.

My students all know Trump as well. As with Obama, they know nothing about his platform, and luckily most of them know nothing about his scandals or media outbursts either. For some reason, though, they think he’s funny. And not in a good way. Somehow these 9-12 year olds have intuited that he’s a joke as a politician.

Still, the older students have complete media access, and this brings up another fascinating, and to me unfortunate, aspect of this election. After the second debate, I got the question from a seventh grader, “Teacher, why did Trump bring together women before the debate?” Do I explain President Clinton’s infidelity? Do I explain that Trump was trying to use that to shame Hillary and underhandedly throw her off her game?

Honestly, after the audio scandal, I was just waiting for the, “Teacher, what’s p*ssy?” question. Luckily it never came, and while obviously the problematic part of that statement was not his word choice but the clear dismissal of consent, Trump showcases bullying, predatory behavior, and a lack of respect for humanity and diversity.

People have been saying this at least for the duration of the election cycle, so me adding my voice on election day doesn’t mean much. But working with children in Taiwan, very far removed from the politics of America, and still seeing how his behavior and mannerisms might influence them, I can’t imagine the detrimental effect such a role model would have on American children. If we elect Trump to the presidency, even if you’re of the opinion that a president needn’t be polished or PC, we legitimize his vile behavior. That office by its nature garners respect, and if we choose a president who is rude, racist, and sexist, we are saying to children that those attitudes are acceptable, and potentially even admirable.

I have one large class of third graders that has been struggling with rudeness and bullying. It’s hard to pin down the ringleaders, as the bully and bullied change every day. Just last week I heard one student making fun of another and immediately pulled her away. “But I can say mean things to her, Teacher,” she responded. “She was mean to me first.” Pure playground logic. Also, Trump logic.

Luckily, I had a handy story in my pocket, thanks to our gem of a First Lady, Michelle Obama. We took a break from classwork and talked about “going low” and “going high.” The point is, the potential President of the United States shouldn’t be the playground bully of the story.

While I may be a little late on the uptake, I did get my absentee ballot out in time several weeks ago. Today it’s on you, America.