For the past two weeks, I was down in Argentina on vacation. This has kept me far away from my usual regimen of American politics and news. But while there, I found that Argentina's national political scene is almost as hard to stay away from as the red wine and grilled beef.
The biggest story every day has been Argentine President Christina Kirchner's proposed 10 percent tax hike on agricultural exports to fund her ambitious social programs. Since agriculture is one of the largest industries in Argentina, tampering with it isn't taken very lightly. And the farmers of Argentina have shown their disapproval by not only striking but also shutting down major highway routes all across the country in protest. In the capital of Buenos Aires, those supporting the farmers gathered en masse in front of the "Casa Rosada" - the equivalent of our White House.
Then something remarkable happened. President Kirchner directly addressed the people rallying against her. Even more impressive, after more than three months of continuous activism by the farmers, the president allowed the decision on the taxes to be made in the national legislature - a more democratic body that might find a compromise.
As I heard this news, the image of George W. Bush addressing a group of anti-war protesters outside the White House and making concessions made me chuckle inside, and then it made me angry. We all know that such a display of humility would never come from a president who believes he takes mandates from God.
A salient example of this reality occurred right before the invasion of Iraq, when millions of people protested around the country and the world to voice their objections to the coming war. Instead of taking a second look at his plans for war and considering the opinion of those protesting, Bush and his cronies took it as a sign that they needed to ramp up the propaganda campaign.
Another contrast to the U.S. that I have discovered in Argentina is the difference in the way the media covers controversial political events. During my stay in Argentina, the coverage of the tax issue and the demonstrations of its supporters and opponents was incessant and in-depth. Congressional debates were played in full on the nightly news, and newspapers devoted multiple pages to the story.
When protesters interrupt our Congress or rally against the war in Washington, D.C., the mainstream media in the U.S. give us a five-second sound bite or ignore them altogether and instead shove some piece of celebrity gossip down our throats.
Finally, I realized that in the U.S., we tend to take our democracy for granted and shy away from activism - this is probably due to the previous two observations.
While in Argentina, I witnessed two other strikes - one over taxi-driver safety and the other regarding discontent among subway workers. I couldn't help but think that if these folks get this worked up over issues Americans would probably ignore, what would happen if their government was conducting two mishandled wars and thinking about starting a third? Would they even allow their country to function while thousands of their countrymen and women were being killed needlessly? Would they just wait it out until 2009? I doubt it.
Perhaps their activism and participation is a result of the fact that most Argentines can still remember the horrors of a brutal dictatorship. Perhaps it's because their democracy is so young they have yet to be jaded by corrupt and unresponsive politics. But can you imagine if a country of 300 million decided to get involved at their level of activism?
At the risk of saying something positive, I am encouraged by the type of increasing awareness and participation of Americans of all ages after eight years of Bush. In fact, that may just be his greatest accomplishment.
Brandon Sack is a second-year biomedical sciences graduate student. His column appears Thursdays.
