Politics, she is a harsh mistress

I haven't really done much actual political speaking on this blog. Sure I've got the foreign lands round-up, and from that you probably should have guessed that I'm fairly left-leaning in my own personal politics. So when I woke up this morning and turned on my computer, it was with the heavy sense of dread that had been looming over me for the last several weeks. Glued to my computer screen throughout the day today, I watched with sadness as a whole host of politicians I admire - and a few I didn't - lost their races for re-election. There was the whole host of midwestern politicians, from Earl Pomeroy and Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of the Dakotas to, well basically the whole Ohio delegation. Add to that, the surprise (and surprisingly painful) losses in a couple Virginia races, as well as a few important politicians in the Southwest (I say important because their input would have been invaluable on any immigration reform legislation). Though there are still a few outstanding races to be called, it was an unambiguously bad night to be a Democrat.

But sitting here in my classroom in Osan, South Korea, I take heart in a couple of things. First, American politics is, as it always has been, a regression towards the mean. This cycle, the pendulum swung - hard - to the right, but I truly do not believe that it will stay there. The economy will perk back up, people will become happier with their lives, and it will be far harder to tap into the fear and anger that I believe drove (at least in part) the dynamics of this election. Hopefully (for supporters of the Democratic party), this election will serve as a wake-up call to the party, reminding us that the optics of the situation matter just as much as the actual facts - sometimes, the message does indeed get lost in the medium, and we would be very wise to wake up to the media.

Second, while things will be tough for Democrats in the House, the fact is they still control the Presidency and the Senate. What's more, when you look at the Republicans who have won Democratic seats - guys like Mark Kirk of Illinois and John Hoeven of North Dakota (yes there's a lot of Midwestern politician love, deal with it) - these are not the fringe candidates we've seen in the media. These are intelligent, moderate gentlemen with good heads on their shoulders and an actual ability and desire to work across the aisle.

Third, I look at my peers, the members of my generation, and specifically my group of friends. I grew up a liberal in the state of Texas, living in one of the reddest of congressional districts - I quickly and instinctively developed an ability talk with, work with, laugh with, and most  importantly understand people with differing political ideologies. I developed an ability to articulate my beliefs and an ability to accept opposing viewpoints in others. What's more is that when I look at my closest friends, I see the same thing. We are not all liberals, or conservatives, or libertarians, or Neo-Nazis or Pagans or Socialists or Islamofacists or Gun Nuts or White Supremacists. In fact, I would argue that NONE of us are any of those things (excluding the political ideologies)...it's all just too extreme for us. We - this generation as a whole - are a group of people who oppose extremism, who look for the middle of the road, but who are willing to stand our ground when it comes to our beliefs. We talk with each other, we compromise, we are diverse, and we do not let that stop us from having personal relationships and what's more, we eschew those people would try to push us to one extreme ideology or the other. And that is the future. That is where America is heading and it is my generation who is going to lead us there.

A final note: I am a political junkie. I readily admit this. I LOVE elections more than I care to admit in polite conversation, and I look forward to my next opportunity to work on one. But politics is a harsh mistress. Because you go through nights like this, or '08 for my Republican friends, and you feel hurt. You feel like you've been punched in the gut or hit in the face with a brick. The thing is, it hurts so good. You can't get enough of it because you know that the high of winning is a high like none other. You crave the long hours and sleepless nights, and you can't understand the concept of "free time in October". Politics - elections in particular - beats you down. And you keep coming back for more.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

See you all in '12.




[EDIT: 4:11pm] Sorry, I feel like a terrible jerk to all my friends out there: I did, in fact, intend to add a mention of congratulations to all my friends whose blood, sweat, and tears poured into these campaigns made them a success. Enjoy your evening, and get ready for the hard part.

No, not the governing, the waiting until the next election season...

To prevent from being injured, please take off your earrings while running

More on this in a minute

As countless other Korean bloggers have mentioned, yesterday (June 2) was election day here in the ROK. The campaign season here is marked by trucks blaring campaign songs, campaign dancers, banners everywhere, and a blissfully short two-week period. As opposed to America, where campaign season lasts for infinity (and somehow, in spite of myself, I still love it). You can read other peoples' takes on the campaigns themselves on other blogs, but my sense is that it ultimately is not that much different from anywhere else. If you're curious, the elections were for provincial and local offices, and the opposition Democratic Party far outpaced expectations, likely indicating some dissatisfaction with the ruling Grand National Party. The DP won unexpected governorships in several provinces where polls had them trailing by double digit margins, and came unexpectedly close to winning the Seoul mayor's office, despite being some 15 points behind in polls. If you want to read a more thorough write up of the results, you can check out what the Korea Times has to say.

As someone with a degree in international politics, these elections were of keen interest to me. So I did what most people with my background would do on election day: I went to an amusement park. Not just any dinky ol' amusement park, though. No, sir! Nothing but the (second) best for this afficionado. Rather impromptu (aka the night before), my friend Chris and I decided we'd head to Lotte World, a (mostly) indoor theme park in Seoul.

Lotte World is not just an indoor theme park. It is, in fact, the LARGEST indoor theme park in the world, boasting several roller coasters, a flume ride, a rapid river ride, games, a kid's area, and an ice rink (and that's just the inside!). It is also connected to a 11-story department store because that is just what you do with indoor amusement parks.

All kidding aside, though, Lotte World was pretty awesome. Let's go to the photos:

Raccoon-chipmunk hybrid?

My first taste of Lotte World. Big, blaring, and filled with some kind of raccoon-chipmunk hybrid. The house you see in the background is the location of the Desperadoes "ride" where you sit on mechanical horses and shoot bad guys on the screen. Not an auspicious beginning. We continued our way through the park:

Monkeys playing bongos? What is this, the 1970s?

An interesting thing one quickly notices walking through the park are the eerie similarities with a certain American amusement park system represented by a mouse mascot.

The performance stage inside

...Disney. I'm talking about Disney, folks.

Welcome to Disney Lotte World

We resemble, but are legally distinct from...

In true Korean form, on of the more popular roller coaster rides, the French Revolution, comes with a convenient mirror to make sure your hair looks good right before you get on the roller coaster. Where you will inevitably mess it up.

No seriously, does my hair look okay?

For all the weirdness surrounding the amusement park, though, I have to say it was pretty awesome. The rides were good, especially the roller coasters Atlantis and French Connection. There was a good tower drop, where my experience went a little something like "Oh look at the nice view! Hey the line for the Gyro Spin doesn't look too- WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH CRAP WE'RE GOING DOWN!!!!!!"

My terrified face just after a trip on the French Revolution

There was also lots of fantastic Konglish. My favorite was the warning for the French Revolution regarding earrings that titles this post. Just in case you were thinking about running with earrings on whilst on this ride. It's really good advice, people!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

In all, it was a nice escape. I had a great time, and really appreciated what will be my last day off until summer vacation. And now I'm going to leave you with a picture of adorable Korean babies driving mechanized animal rides, often straight into other adorable Korean babies or their parents.