On a political note... I just couldn't help myself.

I applied for my absentee ballot in early July, but about 2 weeks before Election Day, my Peruvian P.O. Box is still devoid of my Election Materials. So, with a sense of urgency, I came down from the mountain and headed into the city to fill in a Write-In ballot – a ballot for people overseas like me who just never received the absentee ballot in the mail. I’m voting in this election, one way or another.

Even at 10,000 feet in the Andes, people have heard of Barack Obama.

“He’s the black guy, right?”

“That’s right,” I say, “He’s the first African American presidential candidate in the United States. These are really exciting times.”

“Is he a good guy?”

“Oh yes, he wants to protect the rights of the people and repair friendships with countries throughout the world.”

“He’s friends with Osama Bin Laden, right?”

That one always gets me… makes my blood boil a little bit. Either by smoke signal or messenger pigeon (or other?), the Republican Party’s lies and deceptions have permeated the lives of my Quechuan-speaking neighbors. And we don’t live in Lima, we live in a remote farm town at about 10,000 feet in the Andes. The politics of fear is that strong.

I try not to talk politics with Peruvians, but when I do, I realize that (surprise!) they’re not very trusting of the United States. Can you blame them?

I’ve been so disgusted with and embarrassed by the behavior of the Republican Party over the years, but when John McCain was nominated the party’s Presidential Candidate, I was taken aback.

I thought to myself, this man is not a neo-con, nor is he ultra-conservative. He bravely served our country in Vietnam. He’s never used his 5 years as a POW to gain political respect. And he’s had a career in Washington characterized by his attempts to bridge party lines. He was not the nominee I expected.

But as this election season unfolded, I watched in disappointment as the Senator’s moral fabric deteriorated before the eyes of the world. Once again, we have bared witness to a Republican campaign characterized by falsehoods and fear. And the scariest part of it all is that this method has worked in the past.

During campaign rallies, Senator McCain and Governor Palin made no reaction or objection to their audience crying out against Senator Obama, “Terrorist!” “Muslim!” racial slurs, and “Kill him!” Seriously? What is this?

In comparison, during Obama/Biden rallies, when an audience member yelled out against Senator McCain, Senator Obama immediately responded, “There’s no need for that here.” Thank you, Mr. Obama, for maintaining your integrity. Lord knows you’ve been given ample opportunities to lash out against your offenders.

I also want to pose a general question here, and I think it’s a fair one. Since when was it considered unpatriotic and anti-American to elect the crème de la crème to be the President of the United States? What is this “elitist” bullshit that the Republicans are spinning? Senator Barack Obama is the American dream. He is an exceptional human being who worked his way up from a humble background to Harvard Law to the United States Senate. What is wrong with that, I ask? I know I don’t want some average Joe Six-pack who scored C’s in college holding the highest office in the United States and possibly the world. Sorry, Joe. But I think we deserve better than that.

The McCain/Palin camp deems Barack Obama’s tax plan socialist because he once said that the idea is to “spread the wealth.” Guess what? Taxes spread the wealth. They fund public schools, hospitals, and infrastructure alllll over the United States. I’m not even going to start with Joe – I mean Samuel the Plumber, who’s not even a licensed plumber. This ill-intentioned, deceitful name-calling perpetuates my disappointment in John McCain and the Republican Party he represents.

The McCain/Palin campaign has gone too far. They’ve so much implied that Barack Obama is guilty of treason because he sat on a charity board with Bill Ayers. And to rebuke the rumor that Mr. Obama is a Muslim, John McCain told an audience member at a campaign rally, “No, M’am, he’s not a Muslim. He’s a good family man.” Barack Obama is a Christian. But now Muslims can’t be good family men? Tell that to the family of Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, the 20 year old Muslim-American who fought and died for our country in the Iraq War, John McCain.

I think the Republican Party is scared. It’s scared of the idea of a United States of America run by a young African American Senator from Illinois whose business is organizing communities, whose ideas are inspired and creative and whose policies from health care to the economy to direct diplomacy are humane and just what we need.

And somehow, at 10,000 feet in the Andes, my Quechuan neighbors think that Barack Obama hangs out with terrorists. The politics of fear needs to come to an end now, because it affects not only the average American Joe Six-pack, but my Peruvian neighbors as well. And it’s fabrication, all lies. The United States is better than this, and it’s time we elect a President who represent our strengths.

In an election of such paramount importance and in a time of such dire need, I feel very far away. Part of me wishes I were in D.C. right now in the midst of the excitement. Yes, I’m doing my part for my country acting as the sole representative of the United States in my small Peruvian community. I’m working with some wonderful kids, and when I find myself sucked into the occasional political conversation with my neighbors (they start it!), I do my best to emphasize the strengths of my country and to squash the vicious rumors that have reached the ears of these Andean farmers.

General Colin Powell said in his endorsement of Barack Obama that he believes that an Obama election “will also not only electrify our country, I think it’ll electrify the world.”
So from high up in the Andes I send you all back at home this message: On Election Day 2008, please look and comprehend beyond the fear-soaked-falsifications of the Republican Party. They need a time out. Instead, elect Barack Obama, a great, stable, intelligent man, to the White House. He is the best we’ve ever seen. In other words, por favor, Barack the Vote.

With nothing but love,

Sophie