About 3 weeks ago the U.S. Consulate here in Hong Kong sponsored an overseas voting day for American citizens who were too lazy to register their absent ballot in time and get it in the mail. I was one of those people. So I went. And I voted. Hooray.
I like voting. And I like being an American. Ok… sometimes I like being American. This was one of those times. Going to the consulate was just as memorable, probably even more so, than the actual voting. Here’s what I mean: There’s something satisfying about showing your American passport and being welcomed “home” if you will, as I was at the Consulate. I’ve thought about this experience on more than one occasion. The feeling is similar to the times when I’ve come through Customs after having traveled out of the country. It’s gratifying to know that you belong.
Don’t we all crave that sense of belonging? We want to have privileges, to have a place where we are given special treatment. It’s not about getting equal treatment, though that’s nice, too. It’s about elevated status, about being granted rights not normally granted to everyone else. We all want that, and it feels great when we get it, even if it comes in the simple act of entering a building.
Back to voting. I’m a young urban professional. So no big surprise when I tell you I voted for Barack Obama. Don’t you just love it when you fit the statistics?
I could probably ramble for a bit about my reasons for voting this way, but it probably wouldn’t be interesting or articulate. Instead, a quote from someone more articulate. I particularly appreciated Colin Powell’s statements when he officially endorsed Obama. Here’s what he said about the insinuations from some Republicans that Obama is a Muslim:
Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
… Those kinds of images going out on al Jazeera are killing us around the world. And we have got to say to the world, it doesn’t make any difference who you are or what you are, if you’re an American you’re an American.
Tags: American, Colin Powell, Hong Kong, Obama, politics, voting
