political dissents...

My italian host family can't believe Schwarzenegger is governor of California. Many Italians, actually, have asked me how he could possibly be governor. They start laughing hysterically, and I can't impress upon them the possibility that he might not be so bad. They think he is stupid, they think it's stupid he could have been elected, and they think he just a puppet to some other political genius. It's strange.

It touches on a slightly larger frustration I've encountered here. I touched on it a little in the post on art: the worship of art. Really it gets to a bigger cult following: that of creative genius and/or intellect. In Europe, politicians (much more than in the US) are the intellectuals. That alone isn't terrible... sure it would be nice if more government representatives exhibited some basic common sense. However, that isn't the only thing that is important in life.

The ability to lead and unite is a gift, just like intellect. One is not better than the other, and both are important aspects to governing a society. If Schwarzenegger knows who he is, what his political vision is, and can surround himself with the right people to carry that out, how then is he inferior to someone who may be brighter (I'm not saying he isn't smart-- that's something I don't know) but incapable of unifying a legislature? Or worse, someone who can pass laws, but not for the public good.

I'm not trying to advance or put down Schwarzenneger, or for that matter make any political claims. This is merely a proxy example for differing cultural values. In the US, it doesn't make Arnold less of a politician if he was also "the Terminator." And it doesn't make Californians foolish for electing him.

I tried to explain this to my host dad, who loves to bag on Americans. Some may deserve their rep, but not all Americans are like he says. ::sigh::... so much for stereotypes abroad! We have had, and will continue to have many conversations about this sort of thing, I am sure.