"I think everyone is laughing to cover up their fear." Kate, Australian citizen.
At an international school, the US election may seem quite irrelevant at first glace. Not only does it not directly touch any of our lives at this moment, but students have other things to worry about as the school year comes to an end. While the whole election may seem like a scheme to get the US, or more specifically Donald Trump, the attention it craves, the election does touch us -- although perhaps in a way that is not clearly distinguishable. When talking to Mrs. Garrett, the 9 year old teacher, I was amazed to learn of her perspective on the election as an international teacher from America. "Honestly, I'm just embarrassed. I'm meant to be teaching my students about kindness, to treat others fairly, and then there's a person like Trump running for president. What kind of example is that for a representative of my country? I teach this to nine year old kids, and a grown man doesn't seem to get it." Mrs.Garrett, who has lived overseas for 13 years, also believes that the US is polorized, and having Trump as president will only furthern the issue, as well as strain international relations with the allies. "Obama has been neutral in terms of foreign relations," said Mrs. Garret. "But Trump will push us away from the rest world further than we are now."
It seems as if the whole world is on the edge of their seats, watching the US election unravel in a series of unlikely events. It's the worlds greatest reality show, but the finale will not end in sweet melancholy as many fan favorite shows do - instead, the end may be disastrous and the realization that this election is not a sick joke will dawn upon many.
The star of the show is the unlikely presidential candidate, Donald Trump, and it is thanks to no other than him, or perhaps his speechwriters, that people are tuning in to watch the US election. His blatant statements against women, Mexicans, and Muslims have drawn attention on international levels, evoking a debate throughout many regions of the world: How can a candidate for the position of President of the United States, a leader of a country built and shaped by immigrants and minorities, be so close minded and bigoted?
The answer to this question is what I chased after when interviewing students at QSI. Many of us plan to study in the US later on in our lives, and 49% of the school is made up of American citizens, some of who haven't lived in their home country for long. When asked for their thoughts on the election and the impact it will have on the rest of the world, students had a variety of answers...
"Personally, if Trump is elected president, I will be embarrassed to be an American. It's like, are we not better than this man? He might be the representative of our country, and he is not creating such a great impression," said Annika, a US citizen who has lived abroad her whole life.
A Georgian student Alex exclaimed his surprise at the US in this quote "Sometimes I'm surprised at how dumb America can be. We expect more from a country that is meant to be the 'free world'. Clearly it hasn't been delivering on it's promises of equal treatment lately." Another student, Avery, a US citizen said "While I think it's kind of funny what's going on in America, I'm also scared of what will happen to all these innocent countries that Trump is targeting. I have Muslim friends, and I don't want Trump to make them out to be bad guys just because of their religion, you know?"
When thinking of Trump, one may come up with different images for the man: his toupee, the wall he plans on building, and his multi-billion dollar net worth. It is the later that makes people believe that he is the only man capable of helping the US out of the 18 trillion dollar debt the country is in. But when analyzing his foreign political and economical policies, one must wonder, won't all of this anger America's allies? When a UN meeting was held in Vienna during Trump's speech on foreign policy in Washington, a top official of the UN claimed that "It {Trump being president} would be incredibly damaging to transatlantic relations, I suppose, though we would hope that a President Trump would not be quite as extreme as presidential candidate Trump."
By Taisia Crowley, #feelthebern
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