Ann Wason Moore says the US presidential debate is dangerous for Australia
As the US presidential election looms large, a divided America is finally united in a state of fatalistic apathy. Here’s why that’s dangerous for Australia.
Opinion
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It’s the end of the world as we know it … and I feel fine.
Sitting in my hotel room deep in the heart of America, watching the presidential candidate debate between the demon and the demented (you can decide who’s who), I should have felt terrified.
Certainly I felt embarrassed. This was the best that my beloved country of birth could offer as potential leaders of the free world?
Given the performance, or lack thereof, of my preferred candidate Joe Biden, who was giving distinct vibes of a malfunctioning animatronic, I should have felt devastated.
And of course I’m concerned that Donald Trump could very well win the US election come November, after all, he’s done it before.
But this time, unlike 2016 or even 2020, rather than a sense of outrage or outright denial of The Donald’s chances, my mood is practically impassive.
Yes, this is truly a horrific situation but … whatever.
I’m not alone in this attitude.
Travelling through the US over the past few weeks, from west coast to east coast, from capital cities to small towns, it seems the American people are finally united in a state of fatalistic apathy.
Sure, there’s the odd MAGA hat to be seen, or anti-Trump scrawl of graffiti, but by and large, everyone’s over it.
My family lived and travelled through the States for seven months in 2016, and the political temperature of the country then was the polar opposite. It’s dropped from red hot to an almost chilly indifference.
Back then, you could not talk to anyone – whether bartender, grocery store clerk or close friends and family – without a fiery conversation full of opinions and anger. Even if you shared the same beliefs, people were worked up in a frenzy of hate towards the other side.
I’m not saying that people’s views have changed, but their passion has dropped perceptibly.
There is still Trump merch to be purchased, but not many are wearing it.
Front yards are barren of political signs and I’ve yet to overhear a politically charged conversation.
After two traumatic election cycles, with a pandemic thrown in the middle, people just want to move on and live their lives — if they can afford to do so.
Indeed, the most striking change in the post-pandemic US, even more than the indifferent political attitude, is the soaring cost of absolutely everything.
I thought Australian inflation was bad, but it’s outrageously super-sized in America.
At every cafe, every grocery store, the prices are the same – if not more – than in Australia. For example, two lattes cost $15 USD at a New York cafe. That’s more than $10 AUD for each coffee.
Visiting Las Vegas, literally every Uber driver I booked said they moved to the desert because the cost of living drove them out of California. And this in a town where two lattes cost us $19 USD. From Starbucks, for god’s sake, so not even coffee, just coffee-flavoured milk.
Maybe that’s why no one seems to care about the political battle under way. They simply can’t afford the time to think about it.
Still, this epidemic of apathy poses a huge danger, and one Australians should be mindful of.
Because the biggest risk in this US presidential election is not who people will vote for, but whether they will vote at all.
While I’ve struggled to embrace the idea of mandatory voting in Australia, especially after seeing so many of my own neighbours just tick and flick a box at our local elections without any real deliberation, I still think this system is the best.
In fact, it’s those people who won’t bother to vote who I perhaps trust the most, since they clearly have a healthy contempt for the candidates, but it’s a shame we won’t hear their voices over the ‘rabid’ right or ‘loony’ left in the US.
At least mandatory voting means our sensible centre always has a voice, whereas here in America they silence themselves.
So now I’m quietly resigned to four years of a US president who, at best, is the better of a bad bunch, or, at worst, the beginning of end times for American democracy. That’s if neither candidate implodes before November.
To my fellow Americans, I understand your exhaustion, but I just hope this election apathy doesn’t lead to a lunatic let loose in the White House. It’s not just your nation that suffers.
And to my fellow Australians, no matter what, at least we can take comfort that we live in a country where the political climate is, relatively, fine.
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