US election: Perspectives of Americans in EC

 

The U.S. presidential election has drawn attention from around the world, not only because of United States’ global influence, but also because the presidential candidates are unprecedented both in demographics and rhetoric. The battle is raging between Republican Donald Trump – an often brusque, non-politician prone to gaffes and offensive remarks – and Democrat Hillary Clinton – a candidate who if elected will be the first female president of the United States, but who has faced her own share of controversy regarding trustworthiness. With less than 48-hours left till the next president is announced, the world eagerly awaits the outcome.

American students, professors and staff members in Education City, like those around the world, have played an active role in the election. Many have fulfilled their civic responsibility by registering for absentee ballots and mailing them to their respective local election offices. They have strong opinions and have shared them with the EC community through various panel discussions, presentations and every day conversations.

Joshua Mitchell, a professor of political theory at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, says people need to think beyond the personalities of the candidates.

“Clinton and Trump, I think, [are] both deeply flawed characters. But my concern about the Democratic Party is that…they’re involved in a larger project that I call globalization and identity politics…and that is actually not an adequate way to organize the world,” Mitchell said. “Part of what my 11 years in the Middle East has shown me is that we’re going to have to come up with some sort of pluralist understanding of different political forms around the globe. Qatar will do one experiment and America will do another experiment and I’m not troubled by that.”

In a panel discussion on Oct. 18, hosted by the Center for International and Regional Studies at GU-Q, Mitchell proposed an understanding of the Republican candidate Donald Trump. “There are six ideas lurking in Trump’s rhetoric: Borders matter. Immigration policy matters. National interests, not so-called universal interests, matter. Entrepreneurship matters. Decentralization matters. PC [political correctness] speech, without which identity politics is inconceivable, must be repudiated,” he said, adding that these ideas challenge globalization and identity politics.

Some Americans in EC share similar views and support Trump.

“I chose this candidate because, despite the fact that he is a brazen person and has said some brash things, he speaks his mind. If he wants to do something, he is not afraid to offend and so he will say it,” wrote a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar in an online survey by The Daily Q. The student did not share their name.

But Donald Trump’s behavior also has compelled others to vote against him. Habibah Abass, a junior at Northwestern University in Qatar, cast her vote for Hillary Clinton “because she’s not Trump.”

“I think since the U.S. elections have been followed by people all over the world, it’s a very relevant topic to Qatar and it comes up a lot in conversations. People know I’m an American citizen and ask me if I’ve voted. The fact that it comes up so much and so many people don’t want Trump to become president made it seem like an urgent matter – that I had to vote to save the world from a monster,” Abass added.

The same applies to Madeline Ewbank, an exchange student at NU-Q. “I don’t agree with all of Hillary Clinton’s platform…but I’m voting for her because she is responsive to constituent criticism, incredibly overqualified for the job and breaking the glass ceiling for women in American politics,” she explained.

But that doesn’t mean Ewbank supports all of Clinton’s policies.

“I feel like being in EC has made me more critical of Hillary Clinton because of her Middle Eastern policy. I think there’s a lot more informed critiques of her policy here than there are actually in the United States,” she added.

Election displays at Georgetown University in Qatar
Election displays at GU-Q

Some Americans support Hillary Clinton because of who she is and what she stands for. “I am proud to say my vote was for Hillary Clinton,” said Teresa MacGregor, library director at CMU-Q. “Truly, she is the most qualified candidate for president in my lifetime or possibly ever.”

“Mrs. Clinton has been a public servant for more than 30 years, with much of her work focused on the needs of women, children, and minorities. Over those same years, Mrs. Clinton has been much maligned by ultra-conservative right-wing opponents, but the fact that she is still in the race – and has a good chance of becoming America’s first female president – is a testament to her strong character, principled work ethic, and dogged optimism,” MacGregor said.

Many American citizens in EC have also refused to vote, particularly students, citing the lengthy process of voting abroad and their dislike towards both candidates as reasons.

“I feel like my vote won’t really matter in the grand scheme of things,” said Samer Al Ani, a freshman at CMU-Q. “I’m pretty sure that Hillary will win after Trump’s recent downfalls, so I don’t see any reason to go out of my way to vote.”

From the primaries to the national conventions to the presidential debates, Americans in EC say they have watched the campaign dialogue reach unparalleled measures. From the ruthless ad hominem attacks between the candidates to Trump’s insulting remarks about minorities in America, the election season has left them utterly perplexed.

“I think growing up, it’s been easier to tell yourself [that] the people I know have never done this to me, people don’t really hate Muslims. Then you hear someone [Trump] say these things about Muslims, Latinos, women – like every single group of basically non-white men that you can think of…it sorts of makes what you’ve been telling yourself a lie,” said Amal Ahmed, an American-Muslim and an exchange student at NU-Q. “These people who support that rhetoric are there and have always been there. Now they just feel like it’s okay and it’s been normalized.”

Americans in EC, like the rest of the world, are anxious to see the result.

“This [election] has been happening for like 14 months now and I’m sick of it. Tuesday can’t come fast enough,” said Ewbank.

 

 

Facebook Comments Box