There is something incredibly inspiring about seeing people wait in line to fulfill their democratic duty. Though I've spent the last little while complaining about our lack of choice, really, I think this whole campaign has fueled interesting discussions. Not so much in the media as between friends and colleagues, but that's definitely something to be thankful for.
Waiting in line, earlier, watching some elderly man direct voters to the appropriate line I felt like we were all taking part in something quite powerful, something bigger than our individual selves. Everyone was there because they knew they held some power, if only just that of marking an X on predefined categories of hopes and aspirations for our collective futures.
And, as much as I wished we had different - and definitely - more direct ways to be involved in local and global politics, I am thankful to have this opportunity to express some form of political expression. I hope, though, that the next time around a multitude of silenced voices will get to be heard.
p.s.: S.,speaking of silenced voices, Nasu-Chan wanted to vote for my conservative neighbor but I convinced him otherwise. He voted Green, I think, fiscally conservative but socially progressive. Nounou, on the other hand, sided with the NDP. (Gosh, you must think I'm dork , but I couldn't resist ;)
posted by cynicalcosmopolitan @ 5:59 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
i am happy to hear that nasu-chan has exercised his political right (despite his "displaced" state...or perhaps he is no longer displaced, which is another thing to rejoice about.)
s.
Good call, the mood on election day always seems to be filled with hope. The fact that we do have even a small voice is pretty special.
s.
i believe nasu has become a rooted cosmopolitan. maybe still displaced, but also rooted. i guess he's proven me wrong. you can be both a citizen of the world and have roots, it seems.
he's been talking about going back to japan, though, but he can't make up his mind. i think he knows that nounou would simply miss him too much.
-j.
m.
my chinese neighbor voted for the first time in his life yesterday. he was beaming. i think it made me realize how, despite the 'corruption' and so-so media coverage of the past few months, we were still quite privileged.
so, yes, i guess that's something to be thankful for.
that is what i wanted to say. that it's a privilege. believe me. im envious (even of n.!)
now whether this makes me less rooted than him (or for that matter, the question of what it means to be "rooted") is another whole topic of discussion...
i remember a discussion we've had about the possibility of being rooted.
i remember also that you challenged me enough that i changed my perspective. i was reading a piece in nussbaum's for love of country - debating the
limits of patriotism... somehow i think it was by appiah, but that wouldn't make sense.
is it possible for everyone to be rooted? what makes us create those roots, you think?
maybe i should let nasu blog back.
yeah, i sort of remember the discussion, though i had no idea i challenged or changed your perspective...now i wonder what i said...
youve said that i am rootless, and i used to think so too, but i wonder whether im as rootless as i think. as human beings, we are always located somewhere. we cant be nowhere. and just like plants have roots, i think we grow roots too, because we want to belong. but i guess with globalization, development of technology and all, "roots" is no longer an accurate metaphor to describe our sense of belonging. i think it was paul gilroy that says that we speak of "routes", not "roots". certain circumstances in my life have made me question my "roots" early on in my life, and maybe that is why i feel rootless.
gosh, this is a topic (which actually relates to your where is home question as well) that cannot be done justice to in a comment. i mean, we grow roots to a lot of things in different ways...so yeah, i do think "rooted cosmopolitan" is a possibility.
i have a question for you, why are you a cynical cosmopolitan? why cynical?
s.
i'm not sure i said you were rootless. i don't think i would give myself the permission of making such statements about you unless you alluded to feeling rootless.
i remember that you were wondering, though, why we needed to be rooted. because i think at that point - that was during our 'everything is situational phase' i wonder if i ever got out of it - you felt like you maybe had no roots.
i like the idea of routes as opposed to roots.
maybe, yes, maybe that's how i should think of them.
the reason for the name. well, it's a pun, really. it is diogenese the cynic who first claimed to be a citizen of the world. so the words cosmopolite and cynic kind of refer to similar conceptions of identity.
and, also, i think i tend to be cynical sometimes. probably more than i ought to be. but that, my friend, is another story.
ah, yes, now i recall. i was asking that question because i wanted others to feel as rootless as i did. wanted to challenge other people's sense of belonging. to destabilize them. so i was wondering whether it was even necessary to feel rooted.
see, things like identity and roots, you only think about when it is challenged. cut off or displaced. otherwise it is taken for granted. comments like "oh well that's cuz of your situation" disappoints me. i feel like saying "youre not as secure and fixed as you think!" (but again, who am i to say this?)
cynicism and cosmopolitanism...i wonder if the former might be a prerequisite of the latter.
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