I was scrolling through the wonderful internet today and came across a YouTube community post from a YouTuber I am subscribed to about the recent United States presidential election results. This YouTuber (an American citizen) expressed their views on the results respectfully, and an African subscriber then courteously expressed their view as well, in support of the original post. I won’t say which presidential candidate their views were in support of because it doesn’t really matter in the context of this article and I’ve always stated how we don’t care for politics here. But what I found interesting was a reply from an American citizen basically expressing their offense at the African commenter and stating that they had no right at all to comment on American politics because they didn’t have the shared experiences required to even form an opinion on it. I think it’s important to mention that the African commenter had stated that they are not a resident of the United States and had never been there either.
Firstly, I agree to a certain extent that having an opinion on someone else’s country, culture, or national social issues (save for issues of human rights violations, of course, which anyone has the right to speak up against) is a slippery slope because it’s true that you can’t fully understand their situation or lived experiences. And to publicly state who you would want another country’s President to be when the result doesn’t affect you as much will certainly offend many. It was obvious that my fellow African commenter didn’t mean any harm by it though, and was actually trying to be supportive. It just didn’t translate well to some, I suppose.
Why do people care so much about what is happening in the United States at any point in time?
But it got me thinking: why is the United States presidential election such a big deal internationally? I know, I know…some of you will say, “Not to all of us. I don’t care what’s happening over there.” I understand not everyone was following the presidential race, but let’s be real, many people across the world were. Not even just casually following, but closely analysing it. Why is that? Why does it matter to someone in Africa? Someone in the UK (another big fish, whose politics is closely monitored internationally, by the way)? And I’m not talking about by other politicians because that’s not a conversation we ever want to have. No, I’m talking about by everyday, hardworking, law-abiding citizens of other countries. These people who may not even have any intention of ever visiting the United States, care about the US election. Crazy, right? Let’s try and break it down.
The United States has influence
The United States is basically like the capital of the world. The headquarters of the United Nations is even housed in New York. It’s a trend-setting country, a major player in all aspects. It has one of the strongest currencies in the world, gladly accepted and used as an official currency in many other countries, while also holding heavy influence in the entertainment, sports, tech, and social media industries. It has produced some of the most publicly recognizable success stories across these industries and it is an advanced nation. If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to remain au courant when it comes to business and money-making, you are likely following what happens in the US and some of the other major nations.
So, while the social issues of the United States might seem far-removed from the rest of the world, there will always be a strong interest lingering in the country’s situation and, yes, leadership. Because the US has such a big influence globally, its policies and economic changes matter to everyone. Some people even have an interest for immigration purposes. The United States is known as the land of dreams, after all, and many honest skilled and semi-skilled workers see it as an option for relocation to greener pastures, because their own country lacks opportunities. And I know you might say, “Fix your own country, instead of coming to ours,” but again, be cautious of criticising the lived experiences of other countries’ citizens that you probably can’t fully understand. Anyway, I digress.
A point to add is that the world is also a lot smaller now, thanks to online advancements. We are all so connected and accessible now. People can have similar points of view and interests, and comfortably share them from thousands of kilometers away. It’s similar to how people around the world support football teams in the English Premier League but they are not even British and many don’t even live in the United Kingdom. I have seen Americans, Africans, Asians, and many more support a team in the Premier League and across European Leagues as well. Should they be told they have no right to support them because of their nationality? The bottom line is that excellence attracts interest. And there are many opinions about the United States but what can’t be denied is the fact that it is a powerful, influential country, and so whatever trends there will almost always garner interest internationally. It’s actually a somewhat positive reflection of the country’s status to be able to pull the focus of other countries’ citizens this way.
We watch with a keen eye because, at the end of the day, what happens in powerful nations affects developing nations. But yes, I agree that we should all strive to always express our opinions in a respectful, objective way when it comes to discussing each other’s individual or national lived experiences. However, some people’s national and lived experiences will just always be a little (or a lot) more visible to the masses because of their country’s status, and the United States is one of those countries.
