To the polls they go

THE primary elections will be held in California on June 7 (today). Many consider it as the defining moment in the race between democratic candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Billionaire Donald Trump has already been declared the Republican presidential nominee and most leaders of the GOP have, willingly or unwillingly, thrown their weight behind the uncharacteristic candidate.

With the unusual triumvirate vying to become leader of the free world, the mood in the United States is a clear departure from the more upbeat and optimistic days of Barack Obama.

California’s political climate is variable. Numbers are shared which keep predicting a clear winner and a definite loser; more quickly still numbers are shared again that contradict the predictions made thus far.

Will it be Clinton, the apparent front runner whose supporters believe she has the credentials and the political acumen to steer her way to the White House, while at the same time being accused of being one of the most corrupt politicians?

Or will Sanders be announced the winner in California who has exposed Americans to an alternative outlook to their usual capitalist selves and has pledged to change the “flawed” electoral system, yet is considered too radical in his vision for the country?

Needless to say, the two candidates fare better at least in terms of popularity than the Republican nominee who has clearly ruffled feathers, to say the least, of several minorities — Hispanics, Muslims, African Americans and women among others. His signature discriminatory and hate-filled rhetoric has garnered a surprising amount of support and raised questions among many Americans about what lies ahead.

Rachel, a single parent, living in downtown Los Angeles, elaborates how belonging to a Hispanic community has changed her life with the advent of Trump. “I am terrified of Trump. He has exposed how racist people are in this melting pot community, and now there is an increasingly hostile environment for those who are ‘different’.”

She spoke about how the fear and paranoia she is seeing around her is unlike what she has ever experienced before.

“I teach my daughter that people may be different but they are not bad and we must accept their differences and respect them, regardless of their cultural and religious affinities. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for her to practise it in her daily life as every day in school she sees people doing otherwise.”

Then who has she decided to vote for? “Definitely Senator Sanders. Apart from the fact that he is accepting of minorities as well as believes and promotes equality, he is also economically very much aware of the problems of the working class.

“The government today says that I, as a single parent, earn enough to not be eligible for benefits. But I disagree. I did not sign up to be part of a single parent family and now that I find myself in this situation, I should be given some breaks to make the journey easier. Hillary is the type of candidate who does not agree with me, but Bernie does.”

California, admittedly, faces an even more pressing issue that warrants immediate attention.

While on the road to San Francisco after exiting Los Angeles, one is excited to see the “nation’s salad bowl” that California is famed to be. What greets us however, are signs that read “Welcome to the Congress-created dust bowl” amid acres of barren, charred land. It is a baffling sight that seems to have taken a turn for the worse in the past three years.

The state is battling with a drought that has caused the government to pass strict laws restricting the use of water in cities. But the most potent impact has been on farmers and many have, despite being promised regular supply of water, been left high and dry.

Most voters are worried about how candidates are planning to tackle this issue. With California suffering one of its driest years in 2015, immediate concrete steps are essential. So many voters in California were unprepared when Trump recently denounced the existence of the dry spell and stated that state officials were simply rerouting the water supply elsewhere.

Sanders and Clinton see eye to eye on the lingering California drought and in the past few days of campaigning in the state have promised voters measures to mitigate the crisis.

Another trend that has come up is the aggression supporters face in a country where freedom of expression is much touted.

Rallies such as the one in San Jose on June 3 saw Trump supporters being pelted with eggs, and this surge of violence and apathy against alternative ideologies in the otherwise “tolerant” country is worrisome to say the least. Similar backlash has been faced by supporters of Sanders and Clinton, though of less magnitudes. As a result, many youngsters have chosen to “exercise the right to not vote”.

Many claim California may just brew up a storm on Tuesday night with the political climate tense at best.

In the idyllic town of Castro Valley, CA, the unending silence is only briefly broken with families coming out in to their front lawns to quickly install the American flag. Just as quickly the silence returns which may just be an omen for trying times ahead.