QOTW: Following Politics

[GilliC]

Okay, let's see if we can breathe some life into this place...

Question of the Week
(or "of the Wednesday" if you prefer and are in a western time zone)

How actively do you follow politics "back home"?
How informed and/or involved are you in the politics of your current/host/other country?


(Define "home" and "host" country however you want. We all know that some of us have gone native, moved back, etc. so we're pretty much all special snowflakes!)

[neeps]

Not super actively, but I follow the news organizations of the countries I've lived in on my FB feed so I still have an idea what's happening. US political news makes my head want to explode so I have to take it in small doses. I'm way more active under this administration than I ever was before.

[GilliC]

I follow US national politics fairly regularly, and I contact my rep about things that I feel strongly about or that impact me directly. I vote absentee in all of the national elections.

Lately I've gotten more involved in state politics from my hometown state, even though I can't vote there. A lot of the people I grew up with have very different viewpoints, so I like to try to have constructive dialogues to discuss them.

Locally, I am eligible to vote in local elections (not national), but I feel that I do not have a good enough understanding to do so. I probably should do it anyway, because I'm sure that my standards for "understanding the issues" are much higher than most of the people who are voting. I understand a fair amount about the national government and parliament, and but I can only name around a half dozen political leaders. I guess that's not too bad, because I've met more than one expat who didn't even recognize the name of the current prime minister!

[pittpurple]

We've been able to vote in the UK for five years now and there's been a lot of interesting (terrifying) things to vote on of late so I've gotten more and more educated. We still vote in US presidential elections, but I don't vote in anything else back in the states - we haven't lived there in 11 years and I don't think I should really get a say anymore.

I still have a lot to learn about UK politics - it seems recent events are giving me a crash course!

[mrsukyankee]

If anyone is friends with me on FB, they'll know just how into politics I am - both in the US and UK. I vote in both countries and am dismayed a lot by both, being a bleeding liberal sort.

[rupertpenny]

I still follow politics in the US quite closely, mostly from posting on CEP and getting daily emails from the Washington Post.

I don't follow Hong Kong politics as much as I should. It's basically a sham anyway so it feels pointless. At the end of the day only pro-Beijing people will be allowed to be in power and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[dorothyinAus]

How actively do you follow politics "back home"? -- very much so, local, state-based, and federal.  In fact, my US Federal Representative is Steve Scalise so everyone knows about him this week.  I vote in every election I can (some of them I get the ballots too late to be returned by the deadline) and when I am home and can, I vote in person, even if it's just a little school board or millage renewal election.

How informed and/or involved are you in the politics of your current/host/other country? -- I am very informed. DH is a political tragic and often has opinion pieces published around elections.  I watch Parliament Question Time as often as possible, and do keep up with the comings, goings, and doings in the federal Parliament.  I am not as up on State/Local politics.  It's interesting that I know so much about the politics of the country and am not a citizen or able to vote.  With Australia's compulsory voting, this causes some confusion when I go with DH for him to vote.  Many people look at me strangely when I indicate I am not there to vote.  (Compulsory voting is actually one of the problems I have with becoming a citizen.  I believe that voting should be a responsibility not a requirement.  I should have the freedom to choose to not vote, or even to not show up and have my name ticked off the list, without penalty.)

[brainie]

I follow US politics pretty closely since this disaster of an election. Sad!

I still vote in US elections, but only for President and Congressional representatives. For weird reasons, I'm registered to vote in Michigan, so I vote for national level representatives, but I don't vote for governor or local elections as I don't think it'd be ethical, seeing as I'm not planning on ever moving back to Michigan.

I might make an exception if it meant getting rid of anyone responsible for Flint's water crisis.

I also follow UK politics and vote in every election. I've also considered getting involved in local parish councils, but I don't understand everything enough yet to be fully active. I have strong feelings about waste removal lol.

[cattledogkisses]

I follow US politics pretty closely at the national level, and voted absentee last fall. I have not followed local politics in my home state very closely as of late.

I try to follow local politics here, although there are so many different ethnic and religious dynamics at play that I don't even begin to claim to understand everything.

[oneslybookworm]

I am very involved in politics here back home. I've always been fascinated with it, and stayed involved in politics in the US even while living abroad. Now that I am back, I'm even more involved.

[expatjen]

I follow what's going on in my home state (Hawaii) and national US politics. I still vote in my local and federal elections through email when I can. MH follows world politics in general, and by default, I try to keep up with the basics, too, just so I know what the heck he's talking about and referring to