Help us spread the news:

           

This year my birthday fell on a Saturday and so for a special treat Wendy and I arranged a babysitter and went out for a quiet night at our favourite Phnom Penh rooftop restaurant. Little did we know that our favourite Phnom Penh rooftop restaurant was to be shared with the local Democrats Abroad conference celebrating Barack Obama’s acceptance as the democratic nomination for the US presidential elections with Obama himself loudly proclaiming his acceptance speech from the podium on the big screen.

Out of the three significant elections this year it seems that one has stolen the show. The Cambodian election happened in July and now life goes on with the same government, the same Prime Minister, and maybe the same corruption, injustices and human rights abuses. The New Zealand election will be held in the same week as the US one and only with careful searching can I find any worthwhile discussion on that. However, the US election is stealing headlines everywhere.

Twice I have tuned in to English speaking radio in the last two weeks. The first was the BBC and I caught a commentary on the debate between Obama and McCain. The second was an Australian radio station on which there was a talkback discussion on the vice-presidential nominee debate between someone called Biden and the latest US superstar and household name, Sarah Palin. This is the election that’s caught the world’s attention.

While enjoying our not so quiet dinner, with Barack Obama, we were also accosted by happy smiling democrats with clipboards. “Sign here and we can make sure you are registered to vote this year,” they confidently exclaimed. “I wish you could but I bet you can’t,” I replied. I can’t vote, and neither can most of the people influenced by this decision.

Who are the people influenced in this election? What about the tomato grower in Honduras who can’t sell his tomatoes for enough to survive on because an American corporation has monopolized the market? What about the Iraqi mother whose child is killed in the crossfire? What about the homeowners throughout the western world at risk of high mortgage rates due in large part to unregulated greed on Wall Street? What about the Cambodian amputee, the victim of a landmine laid during a civil war initially sponsored by America? What about me?

I know I can’t but I wish I could, and I am left wondering, if the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world does not consider the interests of most of those influenced by its decisions, is this democracy or empire?