One Nation Under God

How lucky I was to witness the results of the 2012 Presidential election from  Zürich. I took a chance this morning and showed up at 6am to the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce election breakfast having never met any of these people in my life. This was 11pm CST and the results were still coming in. In fact, between my apartment and the hotel, the media called Ohio in President Obama’s favor and thus the election.

To my surprise, I was glad the Swiss had taught me the value of timeliness because within a short time after my arrival, there was not a seat in the room. There were news media everywhere, you’d have thought I was sitting at a hotel on K Street in DC itself. And what a very interesting mix it was!

To my fortune, I unknowingly sat next to Ellen Frick-Delman and her husband Rolf. She happens to be the Consular Agent for the US Embassy and the former President of the American Club in Switzerland. She introduced me to everyone at our table where I enjoyed fascinating conversation. Much like a business meeting in the US, it was die-hard Romney or die-hard Obama – not much middle ground. I think if I had to categorize, the Swiss generally favored Obama as much of Europe does, while the Americans in the room were sorted 50/50 and almost stereotypical – those in business suites looking more white-collar for Romney and those in jeans and looking more arts/philosophical/professorial for Obama – that is a generalization, but something I noted.

I was interviewed by one of the Swiss tv stations. They wanted to know who I voted for and I told them I had been a Romney supporter in this election. They wanted to know what I would do now. I found this interesting as they seemed to want to know how I would find the will to live or what I would do with my anger. I told them that the sun had come up, it was Wednesday and yesterday had been Tuesday and that I, and other Americans, would get on about our business. I told them it really wasn’t about the National election so much as it was the local elections, where the laws are made and  opinions heard. They seemed surprised that I didn’t feel like the world was about to come unglued. Their political system is much like ours, but the perception is that our President drives our country, literally. To some extent there is truth here in that I believe a President as an inspiration can drive attitudes and attitudes drive actions. And that, in part, is how people become President now – not necessarily because of a person’s business skills or financial acumen, but because of how they inspire. And, in reality, all they need to inspire is 50.1% in enough states to get 274 electoral votes. So, not necessarily at a Dr. King level.

I have to say, I liked Obama’s acceptance speech, I came home and re-read it. I liked the statements linking politics to public service and I like the comments about politics being important and big and not to be hated. I believe in the statement “What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth” and I hope that’s where our Congress starts – with the greater good. As the elected Inspiration Champion, I expect President Obama to hold our Congress accountable for this notion. We have to be willing to lose some battles for the greater good.

It was good to be with Americans and those who appreciate what we stand for in the bigger scheme this morning. The sun did come up as it surely will again tomorrow.

The United States of America, not all countries are created equal

Voting – what does it mean? To me, it’s about choice and responsibility. The United States was founded on the ideals that each person could have their choices and their opinions counted and majority rules. That never meant that my choice would be the favorite or that my opinion would be shared by all. It just meant, that if I had an opinion, it would be counted as equal with everyone else. No one gets more votes than me, no one gets less. All that is required is that you are an American.

Regarding the election, here are a few things I’ve learned from living in Switzerland this year.

1) The US is a big place.

So big, we have States, Counties, Cities and Towns as a way to manage ourselves. As such, our news generally covers those areas and not as much about the world outside our borders. Elsewhere, it’s a much smaller world and so the news tends to cover a lot of other country issues, much like we’d hear about what is going on in other states. What that has meant for me is that I hear a lot more about what’s going on in Eastern Europe and Central Africa and Southern Asia. Not all countries allow their citizens opinions to be heard, much less counted and, even less, as counted equally. The US is a special place and we should be very proud of what we have created in a relatively short period of time.

2) Voting takes effort.

Living in a foreign country for the first time is overwhelming on it’s best day. Simple things like turning on your dishwasher take time and practice to get right. The process of casting my vote from Switzerland seemed daunting and so, trying to make one less headache for myself, I decided I would time my next trip home the week before the elections and vote from home. But plans change….and I’m not home this week or even last. So while millions of US citizens made the effort and voted early and many sent in their ballots absentee, I didn’t get the job done. For the first time in more years than I can actually remember, I won’t be casting a ballot in the elections of November 2012. And it doesn’t feel very good. When I was younger, if I didn’t make the time to get to the polls, I just assumed that it didn’t matter anyway. At the scale we were talking, what does one vote really count? But it’s more than adding up to the bigger number, it’s about responsibility to make the effort to get my choice counted. Hard lesson learned for me.

3) Everyone cares about the US Presidential Election

No matter the calendar year, when you travel abroad, all non-Americans have a view on the US Presidency. In their mind, that office holder represents all that is America, good and bad. When I talk about “Brand America”, I like to focus on how similar the parties are and while we have a far right and a far left, most Americans are just to the left or the right of the center on most topics. In general, we’re all Americans and we all want to succeed, no matter who’s in office. I try to focus on the value we place in having our opinions counted and, at the end of the election, we get on with our lives and do the best we can even if our opinions weren’t the prevailing ones. They like this about Americans….

It feels good to be in Switzerland on the US Election Day, almost ambassadorial. The Swiss American Chamber of Commerce is holding a breakfast tomorrow at 6am – about the time the results should be called in the US, I’m looking forward to the discussions and offering a different perspective.

Now – if you haven’t already – GO VOTE!