My girlfriend asked me round tomorrow night, to watch “the election”. But they won’t even start counting votes till dawn, I objected. Remember the time difference? Oh, something will be happening, she said. We’re staying up all night anyway. Of course I’ll go. I’ll bring beer, talk politics and bemoan the situation. Our futures depend on this too. Lost innocence, we can no longer pretend otherwise. In Denmark anti-Americanism has become a safer topic for dinner party conversation than the weather, or football. At least everyone agrees.

I’ve never before heard of Norwegians gathering to watch the US election.

5 thoughts on “reality television

  1. zephoria

    ::wimper::

  2. zgs

    just play along. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/election-test-fl,0,1851284.flash?coll=la-home-multimedia. who gives an f about the polls? it don’t look like bush is going to pull it off. yeah, anti-american isn’t a tough attitude. try living in d hellhole. that’s where the change will come from. energy plan for the western man (beuys). a lot of europeans are more american than us. it makes me laugh. democracy still can’t ketchup/

  3. zgs

    it’s the la times 2004 electoral vote tracker. i can’t link, really. check out d.c.

  4. Norman

    Two months before the Australian Election, a log time Labor Party and Union official contemptuously rejected my suggestion that we would lose. He assured me that I was completely out of touch, and “everyone” knew Latham would thrash Howard. Last night when Ithe topic was raised, he pontificated that “everyone” with contacts such as himself, knew we were in serious trouble.
    I don’t believe it was simply that he was lying. Those bitten by a political/moral bug tend to move in tjght circles, oblivious to how everyone else feels. And when unpleasant reality intrudes, then cognitive dissonance comes to their aid, and conflicting evidence is lost in the recesses of our brain.
    But it does help reduce acrimony at dinner parties, doesn’t it?

  5. Jill

    You have a point, Norman. It’s very easy to just see people who think the same way as us. Makes life easier – until the polls.

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