God Bless America

                                     God Bless America

Tomorrow, November 3rd, Americans will go to the polls and decide between President Donald Trump and his Democrat challenger Joe Biden.  As a foreigner, we should be the last one to meddle into America's domestic affairs but hell no, why the hell on a gloomy and dark Sunday morning am I blogging about America when Super Typhoon Goni [Rolly] is showing its wrath consistent with it being tagged as 2020's strongerst typhoon ever to hit our planet earth. My curt reply:  I continue to be enamored with America because it is the bastion of democracy regardless of the Ups & Downs of geo-politics.

Why am I still enamored with America's democracy? It's because its feat in being the guardian and vanguard of democracy has remained unparalleled and unsurpassed despite the fact that we have healthy democracies around as well when you look regardless whether you look towards the east or west.  As a lifetime student of geo-politics, I can personally attest that from the White House to the halls of the U.S. Congress and all the way to the revered U.S. Supreme Court, America has become the perennial protector of all the democratic ideals we value.  And when and wherever democracy gets threatened, America has been a solid voice of influence.  In the Third World, politicians switch parties as often as they change their clothes.  There's this Southeast Asian country wherein one day, a 200-strong support for the Speaker of the House of Representatives switches from the incumbent to his nemesis overnight, yes come the next day, those chameleons switched colors.

Not in America though.  The primaries was so gruelling with favorites Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as the major casualties.  Even cancelling one's party affiliation to become an independent is by itself banner news in America.  And although changes in party affiliations do happen at the state level, at the national front, you are doomed to fail if you ever attempt.  That explains why even billionaire ex-mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg decided to forego his candidacy because no way it will take off at all.

So while multitudes of poll surveys point to Biden as the strong runaway winner, never never give up on Donald Trump.  Four years back, Hillary Clinton was all set for the post-election celebrations until the poll returns showed Trump squeaking past her despite the popular vote going Hillary's favor.  Credit it to the intricacies of the U.S. Electoral College, so even as we speak, I'd say it remains a toss-up.  As the campaign has heated up to the finish, zero-in on the battleground states, those swing states which will literally swing the elections and spring another shocking surprise similar to Hillary's debacle in the 2016 elections.

Looking back at the Democratic Party's presidential primaries, the favorites were Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren.  So, how did Joe Biden squeaked past them?  Credit it to the turnaround he achieved with that overwhelming turn of events at the South Carolina primary causing the 'also-rans' to drop from the race and when SUPER TUESDAY came, Biden solidified his lead over the pack.  Beyond and outside America, is democracy alive.  Yes it is, if you count the democracies in Europe, Australia and Canada. 

Elsewhere, this is my 2-cents:  democracy is clinging and clutching on straws, still hanging on there with its flickering hopes but the scary part is whatever remains of the straws and ropes of democracy may just snap UNLESS and UNTIL the people themselves collectively let their voice stand out.  In America, democracy remains robust because the voices of the people never get drowned, not even by pollsters, not by the political machineries.

Oh, through sheer luck, i stumbled across this poster and its decibels ring more than a thousand times because this says it all, i.e. WHEN PEOPLE REFUSE TO OBEY, THEN DEMOCRACY BECOMES ALIVE.  And this is happening now as we speak.  In Thailand, people continue to protest and  some even boycotted the graduation rites where King Maja guested.