Graphic by Carlos Alberto Escobar

In the 1960s, political scientist Aaron Wildavsky proposed the theory of dual presidencies. He argued that presidents wield considerably more power over foreign policy than domestic affairs; there are less constitutional hurdles to a president making foreign policy decisions than implementing a domestic policy. Foreign affairs tend to be more chaotic and unpredictable, requiring immediate decision making, of which a single figurehead is more capable than an institution that demands the consensus of many.

Last week, Sebastián Rojas argued that, as someone who is not from the United States, he does not have a stake in the U.S. election, and that since he can’t vote, the best use of time is to ignore the U.S. election altogether. Not having control over something does not necessarily mean we should ignore it. In fact, I have no control over many issues that affect me directly, like terrorism in Pakistan, but as a Pakistani and an aspiring academic, knowing about it is probably the least I can do.

Rojas, however, is neither Pakistani nor a U.S. American, so why should he care? This is why I brought up Wildavsky at the beginning of the article. I think Rojas underestimates how important the U.S. president is to global politics. U.S. foreign policy affects everyone, and the president is the most important foreign policy maker in the United States. Today, this is more relevant than ever: following the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. president was given more powers, symbolically and legally. If anything, people who are not from the United States should be very concerned over how this particular election is going to pan out. I do not really want to be barred from entering the United States just because my passport identifies me as Muslim; I understand that it might be unconstitutional, but that’s beside the point.

But Rojas is right about one thing: our newsfeeds are an echo chamber. They reflect mostly what we want to hear in a convenient way. We don’t really need to expend energy in liking something or leaving snarky comments voicing our disapproval. The reason why news of the U.S. election keeps flooding our newsfeeds is that our — by that I mean students at this university — major news sources are U.S. American ones. While it is important to resist the dominance of the U.S. American narrative, it is also important to recognize the impact the U.S. presidency has on our lives. So let’s all hope The Donald doesn’t win.