Election Day in the UK

Witnessing the elections in the UK was an extremely interesting experience. So many people here seem to be passionate about American politics (more than most American's I know), and this election seems to have so many global and personal implication, that I didn't want to miss it.

I was ready to Barack my socks off (as I didn't think there would be any other outcome than victory), so after scouring the internet to find an event in Oxford to watch the elections, I was able to find a viewing at the University College MCR at one of the schools. My friend Michelle and I wanted to be in a buzzing place to watch the results, so we hoped that this would fit the bill. The e-mailed directions made it sound intriguing. We were instructed to go to an unmarked wooden door on the High Street...how very Diagon Alley. We arrived at this door at around 11Pm when the first polls would be closing:

It was about half full when we got there, and was filled with the optimism of undergraduate spirit. Seriously, I was skeptical some of these people were voting age. I think we were in a dorm dining room of sorts with a large projection at one end. Along with the youngins, we were watching with these bastard-ass guys all over the walls:

We definitely did not come prepared with drinks and no one seemed too keen on sharing any of their wine or Carlsburg with us oldies, so we just took a seat to watch. At first they had CNN on, but then it was changed to the BBC World News. I had enough trouble hearing the American commentary, but coupled with the accents I had no idea what was going on. Also, the graphics budget of the BBC seemed far less than what CNN had invested so there were no snazzy visuals to keep me up to date. At one point they were interviewing Ricky Gervais on his thoughts, and I was like "WTF, I barely care what our celebs think, BBC couldn't get Simon Schama or someone legit?"

While we were sitting waiting for results to roll in, Michelle and I sat chatting. I was surprised at how much I remembered about my branches of government and electorate system! People here find the entire system confusing, and to their credit, it is pretty convoluted. It was really interesting talking to her about what kind of investment the world, and specifically Britain, may have in the outcome of this election. How we both come from immigrant parents, and only in our mutual countries were they able to make a life for us based on a dream. It has been a long time since I actually talked to someone about my experience and feelings on 9-11 as most of the people I know in NYC were there with me, and I found that no matter how long it has been, it's always a very disturbing recollection. The flat bed trucks driving down Broadway empty, then coming back up filled with debris. The smoke we could see from EC. How that day was so surreal, so stand-still. Michelle talked to me about the London Underground bombings and how it effected her at the time, knowing people who passed in the chaos. How she would have wanted to volunteer on the campaign even though she has no ties to the US. It amazed me at how enthusiastic she was, and also how people wanted to see the US redeemed in some small way.

While we sat there, the bigness of this event just grew and grew, and that's when doubts started creeping in....What if it is stolen like in 2004? Will I have to hang my head in shame? Will I have to burn my passport? As the night went on, so did my energy. I thought I would stay until Florida was called since the poll closed at 1:30AM here, but then I remember it took weeks for that to happen last time, so we went home to continue watching around 2:30. At this point I was delirious, but I wanted to be awake for something big, and once Ohio was called, I knew I could sleep easy and wake up to good news. 

How long will this hope and optimism last? My thoughts are basically that politics is politics. Obama represents change, but change comes slow, and we all know that Bush is going to do something insane like declare war on Pakistan on his last day in office, then peace out. Plus all the other mess that needs cleaning. Will America be patient? Will Obama live up to the hype? No matter, today I was proud to be an American, which I am not on a regular basis. I don't really think about patriotism, but when I was reading the transcripts from Obama's and McCain's speeches and seeing pics from the US and abroad, I actually started tearing up at work. Those speech writers are something to melt my skeptical heart.