Election 2006 - Chinese Style

I highly recommend going to a Communist country to watch the results of an American election. Having watched Election Day 2006 unfold in Beijing, I have two reasons for saying that.

First, you’ll almost certainly experience a heightened appreciation for our country and its democratic process. You can watch the legislative branch of a major government change partisan hands in a totally peaceful and relatively orderly manner, while at the same time knowing that you’re sitting in a country where there is no chance of that happening under their current leadership and governing processes. The day before the election in America I walked through Tiananmen Square, the infamous site of the massive citizen protest in 1989 that was brutally crushed by military force. In that square, I saw Red Army troops, uniformed policemen, and plain-clothes security personnel – marching, standing and sitting at-the-ready in their cars – all awaiting the slightest provocation by anyone foreign or domestic.

Second, you have the marvelous opportunity to get the election results without the avalanche of commentary from countless politicians and pundits. Like Dragnet’s Sergeant Friday, you get “Just the facts, ma’am.” While we lacked access to local results, we got the important big picture without unwanted and unnecessary elaboration. One of our fellow travelers is the senior editorial writer for our local newspaper and she made the observation that this absence of punditry allowed each of us to digest the results in our own way and in our own time and to enjoy short discussions about the results with a few fellow Americans in our small groups. It was a pleasant departure from the standard election night barrage.

In the spirit of that simplicity, the only election comment I will make is that I was pleased to see at least one side of Congress change hands (I didn’t expect both) so that the principle of checks and balances is returned to Washington. I say this as someone who voted for a Reb in 10 of the 12 partisan races on the ballot (the exceptions were the U.S. Senate and State Controller races).

Maybe travel to North Korea or Cuba will be opened up by the time the 2008 election comes around. I can only imagine how much I would both appreciate America and be free of democratic commentary in one of those places. I could try Tehran or Damascus, I suppose, but, frankly, Communist countries seem a lot safer choices.

Now that I think of it, the 2008 Olympics will have come and gone from Beijing; the prices will be down; bargains will abound; all the public places will have been nicely spruced up; and, by then, a good Chinese meal will finally be appealing again. So, a nice, peaceful election night is only a reservation away. I just have to remember not to step outside to celebrate.