I’ve spent the last few days, as we continued to be embroiled in our search for the perfect hosue, lamenting the fact that I have nothing to compare this whole adventure to. This became even more painfully clear when I talked to my family the other day, and had no clue how to translate “closing costs”, or what the Dutch word for “deed” is.
Analyzing the world you live in when you can’t remove yourself from that same world through comparison is just a tad difficult. Honestly, I was beginning to worry that this could be the beginning of the end of my ability to compare and contrast my two homes. Fortunately, today I literally stumbled across something that once again confronted me with the differences between the Netherlands and the US. How do you literally stumble across an example? Well, if I say “local elections” does that help anyone? For those who are still left in the dark, please allow me to explain. In the US, local elections are apparently the perfect opportunity to plaster the sides of the road with small colorful signs. And when I say plaster, I mean, plaster. Right now, our town’s road sides are literally covered in these signs. For some reason, they’re all yellow with red, blue, or black letters, and are placed maybe a few feet apart. Some signs are even placed on top of each other, which makes you wonder if the man who wants to be county commissioner is OK with the local sheriff using the top of his sign to advertise for re-election. The signs are maybe a few square feet in size, and, in most cases, sit about half a foot off the ground on little metal legs. This is not only annoying when you’re looking for a house, and mistake the “vote for me!” sign for a “for sale” sign¸ but it’s apparently also somewhat dangerous if you’re an absent-minded runner who is lost in “the zone”, and thus not looking out for knee-high signs in the grass. But, hey, it does lead to a new topic for this blog, just when I thought I was completely immersed in Georgia society, so I guess I should not complain too much.
What amazed me about these signs is that none of them include a picture. In a country where even doctors advertise their practices with a picture of themselves looking “doctor-ish” in a white coat and holding some cool instrument, and people spend thousands of dollars on their looks, I somehow expected this concern for outward appearance to also apply to local elections. Wouldn’t Georgians want a sheriff who looks the part? Someone who can instill fear in evildoers and inspire trust among the community? How do they know someone can do this if they don’t know what the candidates look like? Sure, they want a man for the job who knows what he’s doing, but I can tell you right now that very few men in Georgia will be proud of a sheriff who looks like an “uber-nerd”. After all, this is the country of pick-up trucks, guns, dirt races, chewing tobacco, and real men.
Now in all the other (albeit European) countries I have lived in, local elections entail posters with candidates’ faces in close-up taped on every streetlamp, electricity pole, and tree. You would honestly know what a candidate looked like before you knew which party he represented or what his platform was. Then again, and not to sound superficial, I’ve never quite understood why they felt they need to focus on what they looked like. The voting ballots never included pictures (now there’s an idea!), and, to be very honest, most candidates did not look very inspirational (for lack of a better word). So maybe Georgian candidates are being very wise by not putting their faces on their signs. Perhaps it is better to let the crowds judge you on your actions, and then picture a face with it themselves.
The second thing that I noticed about the local elections, besides the ubiquitous presence of the signs, is that seemingly everyone in local government has to run for election. Sheriffs, councilmen, county commissioners, and probably the local dog-catcher too, they are all chosen by the people. Coming from a nation where a lot of these positions are made up by appointees, this is definitely an odd experience, not in the least because in some cases I’m not even sure what all these people do, let alone knowing who would do the best job. Now I realize that I’m probably not totally up to speed on local Georgia government, but I have a hard time believing that many people keep up with all these jobs and their candidates. Today, for instance, I had to ask my husband what being a county commissioner entails. Apparently it has something to do with taxes and appropriation, but husband-dear wasn’t sure either. No, this is not because he does not care, but merely because military members not registered in the state in which they reside, are not allowed to vote in local elections. So the love of my life has merely been out the loop, and we both can’t vote in local elections (and that makes me feel a whole lot better)
Then I couldn’t help but wonder how on earth local residents make up their mind. Do they all seriously visit all the websites advertised on the different signs? Not to put down anyone, but I have a hard time believing that. My students won’t even read their four-page course syllabus, so would local residents with a job and a family really check out each candidate for every position? I don’t know. I know I probably wouldn’t. So I’m going to venture out and make a very daring proposal. If people are going to vote while partly, or not at all, informed, wouldn’t it be better to have someone, or a few someones who knows a great deal about county taxes, dog and criminal-catching to appoint the best candidate? When I read this as a Dutch citizen, I think, well, of course, why waste money on an election, when a mere appointing committee can do just as good a job. But when I read the proposal as a near-American, my hair almost stands on end, because this is democracy at its best. The people should decide whom they want in their government. It’s for the people, by the people, and of the people, and if those people chose to stay uninformed, that is their choice, and they should not have that choice influence their democratic rights.
Right, so now which world do I belong to? You know, I really don't know, and it's cool to be back in that position again!
2 comments:
Ai you almost had nothing to compare?
I found it strange too that we had to vote for positions like town clerk. A paper pushing position, why does it need an election? Here there is always only 1 name for this one, and the same woman has had this position for a long time.
How do people make up their mind? I can tell you how it goes here. We live in a very small town were there is enough talk and gossip, and enough chance to meet the people we vote for. And there are a few families that always seem to have a family member on the ballot. Half the town will vote for them, the other half will have nothing to do with them. (and thus nothing happens here and we still don't have a new community building... etc.)
I'm visualizing you literally stumbling over yard signs. :-P
In my experience, a lot of American voters skip over candidates or positions (like commissioner) on the ballot that they don't know anything about. You'll notice on the returns on election night that the total number of votes for elections in the same jurisdiction will vary based on interest and name recognition.
The previous poster is right, though, what votes do get casted are based on word of mouth or, again, (un)favorable name recognition. So I suppose a lot of those voters are somewhat informed about candidates and the job involved. I think there's probably a strong advantage for incumbents, too. Or, one can just vote along party lines!
The Dutch system sounds pretty effective, though.
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