As it's an election year, and we're right in the middle of the primaries, it makes sense that the elections are on everyone's minds. I expected to see articles shared all over Facebook and Tumblr, and for newspapers to constantly publish the new results with every election that takes place. I even expected to have a few conversations about candidates with my American friends. What I didn't expect was how interested everyone I've talked to in London is in our election; when I say they're interested, I mean I get asked about the presidential elections at least four times a week by Londoners.
To say Londoners are enthralled in the election is not exactly correct--truly most everyone I've talked to is more focused on Donald Trump than anyone else, and although there are a few people who will engage in Hillary vs. Bernie conversations, the majority of the conversations I've had have all centered around the question of "So is he really going to win?" Sadly, I don't have an answer to that. I mean, I sure as hell hope he doesn't, but when he first entered the race, I thought it was a joke. Yet, here we are in the middle of April and that "joke" is now leading the Republican candidates in the primaries. Here we are in a time when the UK Parliament actually had a conversation about banning Trump from their country, and I still don't know what to tell those who ask me about him.
These interactions, however, have gotten me thinking about something else entirely. Perhaps it is because of my age, or my limited world-view, but before studying abroad, I never once gave so much thought into the political structure of another country. I knew that Great Britain has a Prime Minister, and that there are different parties in Europe than there are in the US, but I never once paid much thought to those elections, or to what Parliament was doing. And yet when it comes to the US, everyone seems to know exactly what's going on. What's more, they want to know my personal thoughts on the current events, too. "So Trump won again in the primaries, what do you make of it?" has been asked to me almost on a weekly basis at this point, as well as "Hillary is going to beat that Sanders guy, don't you think?" and I find myself having more political debated here in London than I did back home in the US.
Part of that can be attributed to the fact that we're a large nation who's actions have global consequences, but so do many other countries in the world, and on the most part, Americans still don't pay attention. Is it because we're self-centered? Or because we live our lives with blinders on? Like the question about Trump, I truly don't know, but it's interesting to consider.
One thing I'm realizing while being abroad, though, is how different the media in the U.S. is to that of Great Britain's. Here in London, news papers cover global events just as much if not more than they do local ones, whereas in the US, a great deal of our news is U.S.-centric. It's quite likely that we just don't see as much about other countries and their politics, whereas the world is constantly bombarded with ours. Especially during an election year, the majority of our newspapers are constantly covering campaign events or primary elections, or looking at polls or turning to analysts to try and predict the outcome, and in doing so, we're constantly exposing the entire world to it.
Another reason I've come across, that would explain other countries' constant curiosity is that it's funny to them in a voyeuristic way. And I can't fault anyone for thinking that when we've had a candidate called "Deez Nuts" and when we're constantly being reminded of how corrupt the electoral process is with super delegates and voter suppression. I'd be interested, too. Beyond vague interest, however, a lot of people I've discussed this with use this election as a reason for why the constitutional monarchy is better, or why our democracy is flawed. Those aren't conversations I'm used to having, let alone with people who aren't from the United States, but they make fair points.
Perhaps, the fact that so many others are so invested in our election results this year doesn't matter so much in the terms of why. But it's definitely something worth thinking about, because if the whole world is watching us on the edges of their seats, doesn't that mean something, too?
