“Hannah! Do you think Trump is going to win? I’m so nervous he’s going to. Trump’s going to win, isn’t he?” Zara in my Modern Indian History class asks me this almost every week. In fact, most students at Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) in Delhi, where I am studying abroad for the semester, have the same question: Is Trump what America has become?
At first, I was surprised that so many LSR students knew Donald Trump and knew his ideology. Most American college students barely know who the Prime Minister of India is, never mind knowing anything about ongoing elections.
After four months in India, it’s now clear to me that most Indian students know a lot about the U.S. With this realization came the secondary realization that one of the privileges of living in the United States is that we don’t have to worry about other country’s elections. Yes, it’s great to be informed and to understand the complexities of international politics, but when you’re in the United States you only really need to know one thing: the United States is the most powerful country in the world.
Living in the most powerful country in the world means you’re safe. Your well-being isn’t very dependent on another country’s political elections. In India, who’s in the White House and who’s in Congress matters. The president sets the tone for India-U.S. relations and, as Commander-in-Chief, wields enormous military power.
India just does not have the same clout in international politics as the United States – no country does. The United States gets what it wants in terms of trade agreements, and often sets the rules for other countries. We also get to make up our own rules and not ratify international treaties just because we don’t want to be held responsible for shit.
If you’re a college student in India, your future is affected by who is in power in the United States. The political science classes at LSR, especially those about international relations, constantly refer to United States history for context. When did that thing happen, again? Oh, two months after the United States withdrew from Vietnam.
United States immigration laws and trade agreements have a particularly large impact on life for students in India. Whether you’re hoping to get a certain kind of VISA so you can study English Literature at Columbia, you’re planning on starting a non-profit or you’re going to work for a multinational corporation, United States immigration and trade policy for the next ten years are going to affect your career opportunities.
Every week, I tell Zara the same thing: that I think nearly all the people willing to vote for Trump are already voting for him. More people won’t start liking him later in the race, and the Democratic nominee will win. I hope I’m right. I’m pretty sure America has more compassion and more sense than to elect a man with none of the necessary experience and a hateful ideology. But Zara’s still worried and understandably so.
The 2016 election outcome doesn’t just matter for United States citizens; it matters for everyone – even a history student in far-off India. So vote, and vote for a better world, not just for the return of a “great” America. Your vote is the one that counts, but there are millions of people out here counting on your choice.
Special thanks to Anna Dennis for inspiring this piece with her research and conversation.
