My blog to this point has been almost entirely focused (as it should be) on my work here in Bolivia and the effect national politics have on my stay here. But, as the Presidential election nears, I want to share some things I have observed in relation to things facing the US, but more importantly how my experience here has changed my views in some ways. This might be a long post, so feel free to skim it . . .
Right now, for me the #1 issue as for most Americans is the economy. As a missionary I notice the dip the dollar has taken over the last year and it may not seem like much but the value of the dollar against the boliviano has dropped 10% in one year. This means every dollar I take out doesn't go as far as it used to, meaning I have to be even more careful on what I spend money on.
Another thing that I have noticed is how addicted our country is to oil. We have reached the point where gas prices are so high that it is beginning to impact our economy and it will only continue to get worse as the demand for oil goes up worldwide and the population grows. Because of this we need the government to put more incentives out there for alternative energy. For too long, the big oil companies have put money in the pockets of politicians to prevent any serious change. And now, oil companies are making record profits and oil is the newest precious commodity that gold and silver have been in centuries past. I don't know that for automobiles we will ever get off the oil standard (or at least in my lifetime), but we can look for alternative energy sources for powering our homes (solar, wind, and even nuclear) and other areas like that. This will give us a threefold solution of 1) reducing our dependence on foreign oil and as a result 2) reducing our interest in the affairs of oil producing nations and 3) help clean up our environment a bit more.
The last major issue for me is national security. Terrorism is a real and legitimate threat during the 21st century and although we need to be tough and we need to put full energy into fighting terrorism, part of me believes we are targeted because our military presence is global. We talk about our military being "stretched thin" and this is true, but I think what really needs to happen is a major reorganization of how and where our military is deployed worldwide to focus on where the biggest threats are against the homeland and not covering every corner of the globe. I think having a global presence invites more problems.
As I browsed through both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama's websites yesterday, I was surprised to find on these issues, my views aligned more with Obama than with McCain. I also like Obama's idea to bring faith back into the forefront of American life. I know many families in America have lost this, for whatever reason. I know many people in my parents generation attended church as children and in this generation it just isn't done as frequently. I applaud Obama for his efforts in trying to bring faith into the Democratic party, something usually dominated by Republicans.
For these reasons, I am seriously considering voting for Obama, something I never thought I would do. However, I also think McCain is right that there is too much "pork barrel" spending in the government and it is a concern in getting our national budget on track. I'm not an economist, but I'm pretty sure having lots of national debt isn't a good thing.
I still don't like the fact that Democrats tend to engage in a lot of party politics, I don't like the fact that they spend lots of money, and some of Obama's foreign policy views scare me. But I'm starting to think maybe Obama's slogan of Change for America is really a Change for the Democratic Party and regardless of what happens with the election is a good thing for America. We need a responsible, respectful second party that will cooperate, negotiate and be creative. We need that second point of view rather than a filibuster. We'll have to see how the debates and campaign unfolds, but I'd say I'm closer than I ever thought I'd be to voting Obama. . .but still not entirely convinced.
