11.27.2004
No More Excuses: Understanding the Americans (Scoop.co.nz)
An Expat American Gives Up On Explaining His Homeland
By Jeff Memler
For the last three and a half years I have been making excuses for Americans. You see, I was born in the US and therefore I am continually asked by non-Americans, to explain the mysterious ways of my former countrymen.
Although, I came to New Zealand over twelve years ago primarily because of my distaste for things American, I still have felt a degree of compassion for most Americans. I have been asked, "How is it possible that such an obviously unintelligent, incompetent and grotesquely offensive politician like GW Bush is the leader of such a powerful and influential country? Why do so many Americans support him?"
I usually began to answer these very relevant questions by pointing out that in fact, many Americans had not supported Bush. In the 2000 election Bush's main opponent, Democrat Al Gore, received over a half a million more votes than Bush. (To understand how one can lose the popular vote but still "win" an election requires a difficult explanation of the confusing American electoral system.)
And that is also not counting the hundreds of thousands of citizens whose votes were never counted nor the tens of thousand of Americans who were denied the right to vote (an estimated 57-94 thousand alleged ex-felons were removed illegally from the voting registers in Florida). The vast majority of these disenfranchised Americans were minorities who traditionally vote Democrat.
(More ... Scoop: No More Excuses: Understanding the Americans) ¶ 08:46
By Jeff Memler
For the last three and a half years I have been making excuses for Americans. You see, I was born in the US and therefore I am continually asked by non-Americans, to explain the mysterious ways of my former countrymen.
Although, I came to New Zealand over twelve years ago primarily because of my distaste for things American, I still have felt a degree of compassion for most Americans. I have been asked, "How is it possible that such an obviously unintelligent, incompetent and grotesquely offensive politician like GW Bush is the leader of such a powerful and influential country? Why do so many Americans support him?"
I usually began to answer these very relevant questions by pointing out that in fact, many Americans had not supported Bush. In the 2000 election Bush's main opponent, Democrat Al Gore, received over a half a million more votes than Bush. (To understand how one can lose the popular vote but still "win" an election requires a difficult explanation of the confusing American electoral system.)
And that is also not counting the hundreds of thousands of citizens whose votes were never counted nor the tens of thousand of Americans who were denied the right to vote (an estimated 57-94 thousand alleged ex-felons were removed illegally from the voting registers in Florida). The vast majority of these disenfranchised Americans were minorities who traditionally vote Democrat.
(More ... Scoop: No More Excuses: Understanding the Americans) ¶ 08:46
