I had an idea, as a concerned citizen of the world, to write an open letter to America, asking all eligible to vote in the upcoming Presidential elections. I spent some time formulating the content to make sure I wasn't insulting the American people's intelligence. I wanted the content to be completely unbiased as well. Simply, I just wanted Americans to be aware of just how much emphasis the rest of the world places on the Presidential elections.
Then something made me change my mind. While I was watching the tallying of the Australian elections on cable news, the channel crossed to the Presidential debate. How's that, on our election day, our journalists are also concentrating on the American campaign. I am damn sure this would never happen in reverse. In fact, I would go so far as to say I'm sure very few Americans even knew there was an election being held in Australia. There is nothing new about this observation. I've seen plenty of reports indicating that the average American knows very little about the world outside their own borders. Most of what they know is learnt from subjective television programs. If you're American and reading this, please don't take offense. I'm not trying to offend anyone, just point out the realities.
So I decided I won't send out this open letter. I'm not sure that it would get to the people that count, anyway. Given something like 17% of the American population are registered to vote and that most of these people would be of a similar living standard, education etc as I am, then I am betting they are the sort of people who are reading blogs, seeking information and dicussing it amongst their peers. They, or maybe I should say, a lot of you are the sort of people I would like to call friends. People who have opinions, who are willing to live and let live, who want to grow by learning and passing knowledge on. You are responsible, open-minded, compassionate, tolerant and non-apathetic. Therefore, my open letter would probably only be useful as reiteration for you all or maybe even piss you off a little because you don't need to be told this because you are doing something.
So, I'm turning this open letter into something more personal, which is why I'm writing this blog. I'm appealing to you, my friends, on a personal level. If you can get one person interested enough to register and vote in November, then you may well change the outcome of your elections. As I said earlier, I am not suggesting who you vote for, I just want to see people voting. A single person CAN make a difference, even if we don't see it being made. I believe this and I'm asking you to believe it too.