screengrab from https://youtu.be/JCTYcoZThCE

Look at that picture above. Why wouldn’t we want those people voting in our elections?

You’ll probably guess why this is supposedly a dire necessity. As usual, man-made climate change is at the heart of this nonsensical idea. The fate of the world is at stake after all and we can’t doom other countries by…(checks notes) leading the world in carbon emissions reduction?

One election after the next, we have seen how much the results of the US presidential vote impact not just the 50 states, but the rest of the planet too. And if the future of foreign countries is shaped to a significant extent by what goes on on US Election Day, shouldn’t they get a say in who gets to lead the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years?

In other words: shouldn’t foreign countries have a right to vote in the US presidential election?

You gonna give all your resources, start paying taxes, and subvert yourselves to our government? Maybe we could work something out then. Otherwise, no, you shouldn’t have that right.

Perhaps it helps to imagine America as the pot in which tomorrow’s ideas are brewed, for better or worse. Perhaps it helps, too, to look at the more tangible signs of how US politics contribute to shaping all of our lives. The most convincing example may be global warming, and Donald Trump’s overt skepticism when it comes to climate change. In January this year, the president of the world’s most powerful nation infamously tweeted: “In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]? Please come back fast, we need you!”

It goes without saying that whatever the US does or does not do to limit the effects of global warming impacts every single being, human or otherwise, on this planet.

Forgetting the false hysteria related to climate change for a moment, I’m not sure what Trump joking on Twitter has to do with anything. There is a profound disconnect between action and gesture on the world stage. China can sign a meaningless Paris Accord and be praised as saving the planet. Meanwhile, they continue to increase their carbon emissions and it’s all for show. Yet, the U.S. doesn’t sign said meaningless piece of paper and we lead the world in carbon emissions reduction via free markets and technological advancement (see fracking, that thing the EU countries all irrationally hate).

Who’s doing more in that scenario? China or the U.S.? How about France or Germany, who also have seen little to no reduction in carbon emissions? Talking a good game is all that ultimately matters to the global warming cult.

Except things are more complicated, and more nuanced than that. Take, for example, the idea that living in a country is a condition to having the right to vote there. Permanent residents such as myself, also known as green card holders (also known as people who aren’t US citizens but live and work in the US full-time) pay the same income tax as US citizens, but don’t get to vote. Naturally, US citizens (like citizens of many other countries) still get to vote for their president even if they permanently move to a different country. All this to say: there is an established disequilibrium between who gets to vote in the US presidential election and who arguably has the most skin in the game.

So become a citizen. Problem solved.

It’ll come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the writer of this article didn’t like George W. Bush either. This is all politics in the end. When Barack Obama was still in office, she didn’t bother making this suggestion despite the fact that the world was no less supposedly ending then than it is now. Europeans don’t like Donald Trump. We get it. Enjoy your socialist paradises, high taxes, inability to defend yourselves, and cultural upheaval.

I have clearly disclosed my status as a French citizen, so I know the question will be raised: how would I react if someone proposed to let other countries vote in the French presidential election? Well, France is currently about five spots behind the US in the ranking of the world’s most powerful nations, and its GDP is more than seven times lower. But sure, should France ever have the kind of political and cultural influence the US currently yields, then I’d be inclined to let others have a say. In fact, I might even vote in favour of it.

I like how she wants a vote in U.S. elections but then lays down arbitrary markers to deny us the right to vote in her elections. I mean, if you are going to push for this, at least be cordial enough to reciprocate and let us help you out with that yellow vest thing.

I’ll just be honest. A lot of really stupid stuff emanates from Europe and this idea is no exception. Maybe there’s a reason the U.S. is so powerful, as described in this writers own words, and the EU nations are floundering? Perhaps seeking to fix that should be your first priority instead of worrying about U.S. elections? Maybe it’s not us doing everything wrong but you guys doing everything wrong? But this is typical of the mindset that’s always looking to blame someone else for their troubles.

Even if there weren’t constitutional issues, looking at the turmoil in France and the dysfunction of the European Union as a whole, I’m going to go with a big no on allowing them to vote in our elections. Sorry.

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