今天是美国总统大选的投票日。一些学校放一天假，方便老师们前往投票。我们学校没有放假，但是将课后的例会调整了日期，于是，我一放学就回家，然后，与先生步行10分钟到家附近的投票站。
一路上，微风习习，秋景绚烂。我与先生虽然政见不同，但仍能并肩执手前往投票，也算是难能可贵的。据说，选举期间寻求心理咨询的夫妇数量激增。有些家庭，妻子支持哈里斯，丈夫支持特朗普，一打开电视新闻就开始口水战。这边选战还没落幕，那边夫妻俩倒开始离婚大战了。唉，你说，这大选害人不？
投票站设立在社区活动中心内，门口，各方阵营的拉票人士正在做最后的一搏，但是氛围很和谐。
工作人员检查了我的身份证，核对签名后，将一张四页的选票递给我，并简要说明了填写方法。
我向周围的工作人员询问学生们的工作表现，得知大家对她们的认真负责都赞不绝口。之后，工作人员还热心地帮我和学生们合影留念。
选票在网站上都有副本，投票之前，先上网看一下，做到心中有数。这样选择起来也会高效一些。填好选票后，到投票机上传送自己的选票，很快，机器显示：投票成功。
下午收到了儿子寄自德国的邮件，他说："妈妈，我想给您的公众号投稿，一篇美国的年轻人从德国观看美国总统选举的文章。"
这次选举真的很有意思，很多年轻人都主动与父母谈论选举事项，我的一位朋友今天本来不想去投票的，她说："我生活在红州，想投给哈里斯，但我的票起不了什么作用的。" 不过，在女儿的再三要求之下，她还是一下班就去投票了。
儿子的文章是用英文写的，我将其翻译成中文，英文随后附上。欢迎大家指正。
今天，所有人的目光都聚焦在美国。
当我在德国寄出缺席选票时，年轻的工作人员瞥了一眼信封，问道：“这是你的吗？” ~是的。
“特朗普还是卡玛拉？” ~当然是卡玛拉，“毫无疑问。”
选举日的氛围也悄然蔓延到了德国。社交媒体上充斥着抱怨美国选举报道铺天盖地的帖子。谢天谢地，这里的情况还算平静。要不是我观看美国职棒大联盟的总冠军赛，被迫忍受比赛中各个组织攻击性的竞选广告，恐怕还没意识到选举已经进入白热化阶段。身在国外，作为一名美国人，我得以逃离这场充满恶意的激烈斗争。
今年德国也迎来了重要的选举，它有自己的右翼政党--选择党AfD。这次选举中，选择党AfD获得了难以想象的权力，但他们的控制力仍然无法与美国MAGA党在那四年动荡时期所达到的程度相比。而就在几公里外的法国，也举行了一场令人瞩目的提前选举，最终对右翼运动带来了一次打击。
在这一切的背景下，我家附近的杂货店电子广告牌仍然循环播放着体育新闻、名人八卦和全球新闻。骑车穿行在这个德国小镇的乡间，能看到所有政治团体的巨幅横幅集中在一个地方（有时还被涂鸦上恶魔角），一旦骑过去，它们便立刻消失在视线之外。草坪上没有政党标志，汽车上也没有保险杠贴纸来表明立场。周围的一切都很平静，只有选择党AfD的影响力在德国悄然滋长，一锅小小的担忧在火上煨着，虽已沸腾，但还没有溢出。
最近，我第一次参观了萨尔布吕肯城堡的历史博物馆，有两件事让我印象深刻——这里铭记了20世纪的两次重要选举。
第一次选举以90%的赞成票通过，决定了萨尔州是否重新加入纳粹德国。这是一次全民公投，背景是第一次世界大战后国际联盟的安排，强制萨尔州与德国分道扬镳了十五年。选举区里庄严地挂着一些迁往乡下市民的照片，墙上刻着数百个名字，纪念那些被送往欧洲各地集中营的犹太人。在这座城堡中，一间小小的牢房至今保留着，曾关押过政治犯，仿佛诉说着那段阴暗的历史。
第二次选举中，以67%对33%的票数否决了二战后让萨尔州成为独立国家的提议。由此，萨尔州重新归入德国，这一选择影响了它在21世纪的发展方向。
这两次选举都是值得铭记的。一次因为它带来了危险，另一次因为它带来了无限的潜力。那么，今年的美国总统大选是否也将带来同样深远的影响？这是我不断思索的问题。我坐在这里，提前6小时不停刷新新闻提要，咬着指甲，等待结果的揭晓。
All eyes on the USA today.
When I dropped off my absentee ballot all the way over here in Germany, the young attendent took a look at the envelope and asked:
“Is this yours?” ~Yes
“Trump or Kamala?” ~ natürlich Kamala “Natürlich”
Yet, Election Day has snuck up on me here in Germany. There are videos and social media videos everywhere complaining about the overwhelming election coverage in the United States. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. It wasn’t until I tuned into the World Series, having to endure the attack advertisements from different organizations between innings, that I realized just how fever pitch this election cycle had become. As an American abroad, I have escaped so much of this vitriol.
Germany had its own important elections this year, it has its own right wing party, the AfD. They gained an unthinkable amount of power in this election, but they still do not have the control that the MAGA party had for those four tumultuous years. Just a few kilometers away from me, France also had an unfathomable snap election that, ultimately, put a dent in the right wing movement.
Through all of this, the electronic billboards at my local grocery store continued to cycle through sports news, celebrity gossip, and world events. Riding through the countryside of this small Bundesland, giant banners for political groups all grouped in one place (sometimes with devil horns graffitied on), immediately disappearing once you had passed. No political signage on lawns and no bumper stickers stating your support for one party or another. It was quiet, with just a small pot of worry bubbling under that AfD fire, that boiled but didn’t spill over.
Recently, I visited the history museum here at the Saarbrücken Castle for the first time. And two things really stood out to me – two 20th century elections that are remembered here. The first one, an election with 90% in favour, was a referendum to join Nazi Germany again following a fifteen year post-WWI League of Nations mandated separation. A solemn section with pictures of citizens relocating to the countryside, a wall with hundreds of names remembering the Jewish population that disappeared to concentration camps around Europe, a tiny cell still stands in the castle that held political prisoners.
The second election – a 67-33 against referendum that would’ve established Saarland as its own independent nation in the post-WWII years. And so, Saarland was reunited with Germany, changing its trajectory well into the 21st century.
These elections were so important to be remembered forever. One for the dangers that they brought but another for the endless potential they represented. Will the US Presidential election this year bring the same level of change as these two? That’s all I can wonder as I sit here, 6 hours ahead, refreshing my news feed, biting my nails, waiting for the results.
祝开票顺顺利利！
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