Let's Get Political.

The UK general election is coming up. And as an avid follower of politics, I'm happy that I can finally get my fix.

But when I first heard the announcement of possible candidates, I was bummed. Then I stopped being bummed and just became flat-out confused. Here it is almost November, and their elections are in early June. They're just announcing potential candidates? Since US citizens are accustomed to hearing the declaration of candidates for the primaries before preparing for at least a two-year campaigning circus, I was upset that I'd be missing the madness. But I've since learned that the British general election is a much faster and seemingly simplified process.

From what I can tell, social issues are hardly addressed in speeches, unless the politician is prompted by a reporter or audience member. Hearing Boris Johnson babble incessantly about a very immodest £15 million statue that is meant to become the Eiffel Tower of London (the projected images are ridiculous, as I'm sure you can imagine) is just painful. I've come to realize that social issues provide the real drama in an election; it's what gets people passionate. To have that subtracted, or at least minimized, from the political puzzle has definitely been a shock for me.

Even the vocabulary is backwards. Today I was talking politics with one of my co-workers, and they said with a grin: "Yes, I'm happy to be a staunch liberal. It's just too difficult to pick sides. I like being in the middle." To which, of course, I was baffled. Here, liberals are equated with a broadly centrist mindset; I think it's rather funny to think that our definition of a left-wing citizen is the UK's definition of a moderate. What's more is that the rudimentary details are backwards, too. Take the colors, for example. The traditional blue and red are used, but here the colors signify the opposite parties of those in the US.

But amid all of these differences, the involvement of media is probably the biggest adjustment for me. Brits can't campaign via television and radio spots, yet I doubt we could imagine a campaign without them. In fact, since the British Broadcasting Company is funded through a licensing fee, there are is a total absence of commercials. Period. Until I arrived here, I don't think I've ever seen an episode of The Simpsons in it's entirety without it being interrupted by commercials for Bagel Bites and Dunkin' Donuts. (Might I just add that there are no Dunkin' Donuts in London. Very distressing.) So, to imagine a political campaign without the bombardment of libel and name-calling? Well, that just takes the fun out of it.

But of course there are loopholes. With the fragmentation of the media that the internet brings, I personally think the UK's ban on certain types of political advertising is going to be a huge issue in coming elections. Many political groups rely on the internet to spread awareness and gain support, but censorship over the net is starting to become a possibility in the UK. Imagine that! It's hard to foresee the UK government shifting such regulations (let alone enforcing them) over to the internet, thereby shutting down many political and NGO websites. The legal issues alone make my head spin. But on the flip side, if they decide to finally allow the broadcast of political advertising in the next few years, what will they allow next?

I think this will be one of the more interesting issues to come in the next few years. What do you think?