Time to vote!
It’s been strange to be away from the US during this election. We’re now in Mumbles, Wales (I could say I picked the town for a reason other than its name, but we’re staying in Fishguard next, so you might be able to detect a pattern). The lady who owns the house popped by to say hello, and once she found out we were American, she said “oh, so you’ll be here for the election. Hoping for a good outcome?”
It blew my mind a bit that a person in a small town in Wales knew the date of our election. But it shouldn’t have been that surprising. When we were on the Camino, meeting folks from all over the world, everyone expressed grave concerns about our election. “Of course we’re all paying attention” said a man from Northern Ireland. “This election impacts us a lot - it’s as important to us as it is to you.”
These conversations usually happened over communal meals. As people became more comfortable talking about politics (and as the wine kept flowing), folks began to share their fears about growing fascism within their own countries. Germans, British, Dutch, Italians, Spaniards. They all expressed fear about the rising of an extreme right in Europe, which they attributed to a potent combination of racism/xenophobia/homophobia and a lack of economic opportunity. Just like in America, the “left” parties have shifted right, done little to address unprecedented income inequality, and failed to present a clear, compelling, and positive vision for our future.
Luckily our future is what we make it and nothing is inevitable. The thousands of folks volunteering for races up and down the ballot and the record-breaking turnout of women and young people are demonstrating that.
Andy and I sent in our ballots last month. We met Americans from other states who had to jump through ridiculous hoops to vote while abroad (looking at you, Texas). Luckily, California made it easy, but it was still a journey to cast our ballots. It included multiple failed attempts at printing, and a trip to two different rural post offices during which I had to pry all the Spanish I knew from the nooks and crannies of my brain.
While the presidential race isn’t a nail-biter in California, our amazing Supervisor (city councilperson) is personally hated by Elon Musk, so money is pouring in to defeat him. And the San Francisco mayor’s race is also critical — the heir to Levi Jeans and Haas avocados who has no political experience might be the ruler of our fair city, which would be nice to avoid.
All of this to say…the whole world is watching, so please go out and vote.
And now, some pictures of beautiful, gray Wales.
