Presidential Election Abroad

By Shannon Cordes ’14

This blog may not be the most eloquently written because I stayed up until 6:30 a.m. this morning watching the election coverage.  I watched the results of the polls come in at the Election Party at the Oxford Union.  For those who don’t know, the Oxford Union is the oldest and most prestigious society at Oxford.  It was originally formed as a debating society and is still internationally recognized as the world’s number one debate team.  However, in its recent history the Union is most known for its speakers, ranging from the Prime Minister of Britain to Johnny Depp.

There’s a lot of political hacking that goes on, but I became a member of the Union (which you must pay quite a large fee for) in order to hear speakers that I will never have the opportunity to hear elsewhere.  Anyway, enough about the Union.  I proudly sported my Red Dress at the election party, where unlimited American Beer and McDonald’s hamburgers were served – the Brits’s impression of quintessential American Food.

Leading up to the election, many of my friends – British and international alike – expressed that they cared more about the United States’s presidential election than their own national election.  The students at Oxford follow American politics quite religiously, but as you can probably imagine, all of them – and I mean all – are liberal.  From this perspective, most people in their queries about who I voted for automatically assumed that I am a Democrat.  I always corrected them regarding my political views, which subsequently led to that moment of shock where the mouth is gaping open letting out an inaudible, “ohhhhh…”.  Furthermore, it’s not that they’re surprised an American could be Republican, but they cannot fathom why anyone would support Mitt Romney.  In their eyes, Mitt Romney is an idiot and Obama is a saint.  I’m hyperbolizing this a tad, but overall, this accurately sums up the views I constantly encountered.

British people are much more open about talking about politics, and always expressed a genuine interest to understand my beliefs, ideology and perspective.  However, what became increasingly frustrating was that upon hearing the word ‘Republican,’ they automatically associated my views with those of extremists in the party.  I always had to clarify my socially liberal values regarding gay marriage and women’s reproductive rights before I could even begin to justify my fiscally conservative ones.  Although it became tiring to always defend myself, the debates allowed me to fully define my beliefs in my own mind, while also giving me confidence in argumentation.  Besides, I learned a great deal about foreign nations’s perspectives on American politics and hopefully offered a different representation of Americans counter to assumptions. Overall, watching the election from an international context was an exciting and unique experience, and one I won’t forget.

*Shannon Cordes ’14 is studying abroad for the year at the University of Oxford in England, along with Ole Abroad blogger Apoorva Pasricha ’14

• St Olaf