After sharing it with my Namibian friends and colleagues, and (once again) discussing our electoral process, I was proud to fax in my absentee ballot today. Voter participation here and in most other new countries is much higher than in the US. We must lead by example, particularly this year!
And speaking of democracy, Namibian President Hage G Geingob spoke at Harvard this week about the current state of this nation. Here’s a report in The Crimson.
Hi Chris, Glad to hear you are well. The election seem crazy here in the US with lots of untypical rhetoric and outlandish accusations. What is the perspective of our election outside of the US?
Hi, Tony – great to hear from you! There is a lot of confusion here, as I imagine there is around much of the world, and a lot of questions. Namibians, in one of the world’s newest countries, are great students of different systems of government, and they often ask about things they read in the international press. The rhetoric of the debates, for example, absolutely stumps them. As a largely Christian nation, they’re often told on Sunday mornings that the conservative right will “save” America. But when they hear Trump, and hear about him, they have trouble reconciling his behavior with those values they claim as their own. As a rationalist myself, I try to guide our conversations towards facts, evidence and corroboration. I’m not sure I’ve changed anyone’s preferences as much as the candidates have (or, at least, as much as _he_ has), but I’ve enjoyed the conversations!