Women's March On Melbourne

Today was the first day of The Resistance with the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States (you cannot know how much it pains me to type that). This afternoon nearly 6,000 people gathered at the State Library for the Women's March on Melbourne, one of many sister marches around the world in solidarity with tomorrow's massive Women's March on Washington. It was a pretty big turn out to not only oppose the Trump presidency, but also fight against misogyny, bigotry and hatred.

There were a number of speakers, including a couple of representatives from Democrats Abroad. The highlight of the afternoon though was writer and Guardian Australia columnist Van Badham, who gave an impassioned speech that motivated everyone. I loved her line, "If you are a feminist and you are not a member of a union, you are not doing feminism properly."

Once the speeches concluded everyone hit the streets to march to Parliament House (not sure why we didn't head down St Kilda Road to the US Consulate). There were some great signs in the crowd and a few chants, but it was a bit subdued on the walk, which may have been because of the tragic events on Bourke Street yesterday. It was good to get some honks of support from cars driving by along the march route, but things kind of fizzled once we reached the steps of Parliament House as the sound system wasn't working. However, it was still a great event and I was glad I could participate and demonstrate my resistance to Trump while living outside of the US.

Of course, today is only the beginning, and it will be important to keep the momentum going. So what can you do?

1. Continue the protest of the Women's March by joining their campaign for 10 Actions for the first 100 Days.
2. Follow progressive voices in the media like Robert Reich, Van Jones, Shaun King, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Michael Moore, who will keep you up to date on the truth of what is happening and any calls to action to stop Trump and the Republican Congress.
3. Read Indivisible, which was written by former congressional staffers and is a how to guide on ways to engage and influence your representatives in Congress and resist the Trump agenda.
4. Get involved at the local, state and/or national level by contacting your local representatives to let them know what you think - both positive and negative.
5. Support organisations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood that are fighting for people's rights.
6. Continue to protest, stay active and resist!

MWF- America In Decline

I always find it fascinating how much interest there is in Australia about what is happening in America, particularly in a presidential election year. As part of this year's Melbourne Writers Festival author and staff writer for The New Yorker, George Packer, did an hour long session at Deakin Edge in Fed Square with Australian author Don Watson on the topic America in Decline.

It was a bit of a meandering discussion that touched on George Orwell, the Iraq War, where Packer was a reporter and wrote book The Assassins' Gate: America In Iraq, and eventually got on to the main topic of America in decline, as Packer retold some stories about the lives of people featured in his 2013 book The Unwinding: Thirty Years of American Decline. It is this decline that explains some of what is happening with the presidential campaign this year and rise of anti-establishment candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

The most interesting parts of the discussion for me were when Packer talked about President Jimmy Carter and how he was the last person to tell the truth to the American people through his presidential addresses. When he lost after one term to Ronald Reagan, no President has been brave enough to be that honest since. Packer also touched on Trump voters and how their issues and concerns shouldn't be dismissed outright and need to be considered by Democrats if they get into office. Afterwards I was able to buy a copy of The Unwinding and get it signed by Packer. As I briefly discussed having to deal with the Trump voters in my family his advice was to continue to engage them using facts and kindness.

Expat Observations: Anti-Americanism

This morning one of my work colleagues said she didn't like the movie Bridge Of Spies because it was "too American and schmaltzy." I have had other people make similar offhanded comments in my presence without a second thought. In all these instances American is always code for bad. It's like some deeply ingrained prejudice that most Australians have, and it drives me nuts. I'll often respond with "not everything American is bad" which kind of makes them realise what they are saying and apologise.

When I was studying at the University of Melbourne in the mid-1990s I took a few American politics classes. In the first tutorial people were introducing themselves and expressing some fairly prejudiced views about the US. When it was the turn of another American girl and I to introduce ourselves you would not believe the sheepish looks on their faces when they heard our accents.

When I moved back to Melbourne 10 years ago it was during the height of Bush presidency (and post-Katrina) and the anti-American sentiment was off the charts. I got blamed for having voted for him (not true) and I wouldn't dare speak out loud on public transport as I didn't want people to hear my accent. I also had to deal with being called a yank or seppo (septic tank = yank in rhyming slang) at work.

Of course, when Obama became President things improved (although they didn't give me any credit for voting for him). However, anti-Americanism is always lurking under the surface. Any article in the paper about American things will always have a string of really hostile comments under it. Political parties also like to use American as code to scare people, with the Labor Party the main culprits around higher education and health care. It reminds me of Republicans when they would say "San Francisco values" as code to frighten middle America.

What goes around comes around, and it's only been during the past year when Abbott was Prime Minister and trashing Australia's reputation internationally that I think Australians finally got a taste of what it was like for Americans during the Bush years. This may be the first time that Australia is being seen in a bad light politically around the world for its treatment of refugees and views on climate change.

US Midterm Elections

As expected, the US midterm elections on Tuesday were a bloodbath for the Democrats.  The Republicans now have control of both the House and the Senate, which will make the last two years of Obama's presidency interesting so far as getting any policy or reforms passed.  It's disappointing that so many people chose not to vote.  I live half way around the world and I managed to vote and get my ballot mailed back in time.  Although I don't think compulsory voting like here in Australia is the answer, it would be a very different ballgame if politicians had to appeal to all voters instead of just the narrow band that are likely to vote.  In any case, this landslide could be a good thing going into the 2016 Presidential election, as the Republicans will have to be seen doing something over the next two years in Congress or they might experience a swing going the other way.

Hillary Clinton's Australian Visit

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been in Melbourne for the past couple days holding meetings with various Australian politicians as well as Prime Minister Julia Gillard.  Her visit culminated today with the annual Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) meeting, the principal forum for bilateral consultations between US and Australian defense and foreign policy leaders.  They discussed a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues.

Yesterday she held a town hall style meeting at the University of Melbourne with young Australians, which was broadcast on the ABC.  Titled Hillary Rodham Clinton: An Australian Conversation it was interesting to watch and hear her answers on a wide variety of topics.  You can watch the hour long program here (although I'm not sure if it will work outside Australia).

US Midterm Election

Today was the midterm election in the United States, where all of the House of Representatives and 1/3 of the Senate were up for election.  Considering the state of the economy, any party in power was going to get pounded, and that was the case for the Democrats.  There has been a huge swing of at least 60 seats to the Republicans in the House, but at least they did not gain control of the Senate, with the Democrats holding a very slim majority.  The Tea Party candidates also had mixed success, with both Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle not winning their races (thank God).  In California, Barbara Boxer retained her Senate seat and Jerry Brown is once again the Governor (he was first Governor when I was born!).

In The Age this weekend there was a great article by Simon Mann called "Divided states of America" which explained the current state of play in the US.  There is a shift underway that is especially squeezing the middle class.  According to CNN's Fareed Zakaria, ''[Americans] fear that we are in the midst not of a cyclical downturn but a structural shift, one that poses huge new challenges to the average American job, pressures the average American wage and endangers the average American Dream.'' 

This, along with a widening inequality in the US, is leading to a lot of the fear that is currently going on.  Robert Reich, a former member of President Clinton's cabinet views it this way:

"What we get from widening inequality is not only a more fragile economy but also an angrier politics... When virtually all the gains from growth go to a small minority at the top - and the broad middle class can no longer pretend it's richer than it is by using homes as collateral for deepening indebtedness - the result is deep-seated anxiety and frustration.  This is an open invitation to demagogues who misconnect the dots and direct the anger toward immigrants, the poor, foreign nations, big government, 'socialists', 'intellectual elites', or even big business and Wall Street.''

Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution sees the collapse of opportunity for the working and middle class as the core issue.  "Mass unemployment, underemployment, entire industries down-sizing with no particular hope of recovery … And so, the atmosphere of anxiety I think is rooted in the fact that people don't have a clear understanding of what the success story is for the next decade, either for the country or for themselves personally."

So what is the solution?  According to Galston, "Unless [people] have some increased confidence that somebody does understand the path to a better future and is prepared to put the country on course to move down that path, our political system is going to be very unstable and characterised by resentment, rejection and mistrust.''  With a gridlocked government, will anything get done over the next two years?  Only time will tell.

The Inauguration of Barack Obama

I got up very early this morning (2:00 am) to watch the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. I have always enjoyed the ceremony of this day and being able to watch history in the making, which was especially the case this year. I first saw Obama speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and was absolutely amazed by his speech. I remember discussing it at work the next day with other people who had seen it and saying that this man could be President one day. Little did I know we would be so fortunate for it to happen this soon.

I thought Obama delivered a strong and inspiring address full of conviction and hope. I especially liked this quote:

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Leadership has been sorely lacking over the last eight years. I trust that although Obama has a huge task in front of him on both the domestic and international fronts, his intelligence, calm nature and desire to succeed will see the US and the world change for the better. I'm so excited to have this man as our President. It's not just the breaking down of racial barriers but also a generational shift in power. I wish the Obama Administration all the best over the next four years (and hopefully four more).

Obama's inauguration and address:

Vote on November 4th

"VOTE" by Shepard Fairey

Happy Fourth!

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends and family. While you get to enjoy fireworks, yummy barbeques, and the warm glow of summer, I worked today in chilly Melbourne. It's interesting being in another country for the 4th, especially one that is populated with monarchists. Can't get overly excited or you might offend them. I also think that being overseas is when you really start to identify with your home country. I can't escape being "American" here. It's funny because in the States you identify with the ethnic background of your ancestors, but here being American is its own ethnicity. I get this odd sense of patriotism that I definitely don't have when I'm home. Who knew it would take being half way around the world to have some pride in where you're from?


A fogless Fourth in San Francisco (very rare!)