The World, Its Vote, And American Elections
From the desk of George Handlery on Sun, 2012-08-26 15:39
Seldom is the topic of this column taken from a long list of planned topics that wait being unthawed. This time the unplanned stimulus comes from a video interview of foreign-born residents in New York. The question put to them was their view of Obama. How would they vote in November?
Inquiries reflecting the views of “the man in the street” often induce shudders that travel down the spine of your columnists. (The pronouncements of some politicians are not entirely exempt.) Sidewalk interviews from America confirm the worse prejudices about the country. Asking the passers-by is a popular art form practiced stateside. When done in Europe, the results reflecting unawareness and irrationality are equally discouraging. US-made ignorance’s boldness has much to do with the courage by which imbecility and lack of knowledge are fearlessly exhibited for all to see. The support comes from a popular culture and from a school system programmed to produce not education but good feeling that ends in failure. Unawareness facilitates the unabashed voicing of unfounded judgments. The justification of these proclamations is “my view is as good as yours, because we are all created equal”. Frequently, the upshot is sad hilarity.
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