Why American Elections Are Held on Tuesdays

Published in Mainichi Daily News
(Japan) on 8 March 2012
by (not named in article) (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Andrew Gonzalez. Edited by Casey J. Skeens.
It is said that American elections are held on Tuesdays because it took most voters a day to travel to a polling place in pioneer days. Sunday is the Sabbath, and allowing a day for travel resulted in Tuesday becoming Election Day. The power of tradition is amazing, considering that this practice continues even today.

A previous column touched on the origin of the word “Tuesday,” which comes from Tyr, the Norse god of war. He is also the god of justice and the Ecclesia, the tribal assembly of democracy. Germanic tribes also made Tuesday their democratic assembly day, another tradition that America inherited.

This week was Super Tuesday, the peak of the Republican nomination race for the presidential election to be held on Tuesday, November 6. The candidate smiling at the end of Super Tuesday was Mitt Romney, who is now the frontrunner for the nomination. Romney solidified his lead by winning in six states, including closely watched Ohio, which is said to be a microcosm of the American populace as a whole.

However, other candidates have still shown no signs of pulling out of the race. That includes Rick Santorum, who won in three Super Tuesday states. In the wake of the policy debates, the smear campaigns have heated up to the point that former First Lady Barbara Bush recently called this Republican race “the worst campaign I’ve ever seen in my life.” The struggle continues between those who have been bewitched by the god of war.

Fierce battles such as these always draw attention. Not even President Barack Obama, who should want to put out the fire, is keeping quiet. He was so bold as to hold a press conference on Super Tuesday, during which he took aim at the Republican candidates who have repeatedly criticized him as being soft on Iran, blasting them for being irresponsible warmongers. Here too, Tyr is alive and well.

This fruitless back-and-forth of condemnations is unpleasant and tough on the voters, who still have to hear it for a few more months. Even for the sake of the god of justice and democratic assembly, a fair policy debate still may not be possible.


余録:米国の選挙が火曜日に行われるのは…

 米国の選挙が火曜日に行われるのは、多くの有権者にとって投票所まで1日がかりの旅が必要だった開拓時代の伝統だと聞く。つまり安息日である日曜から1日置いて、火曜を投票日としたそうだ。それが今も続くのなら、伝統の力はすごい▲以前の小欄で英語の「チューズデー」は北欧神話の戦いの神チュールに由来することに触れた。つけ加えればチュールは部族の集会である民会と正義の神でもある。なかには火曜を民会の日としたゲルマンの部族もあったそうで、いわばこちらの伝統も受け継がれた▲今年11月6日の火曜に行われる米大統領選挙の共和党候補選びのヤマ場となった今週のスーパーチューズデーだ。笑ったのは指名レースの先頭を走ってきたロムニー氏だった。住民構成が全米の縮図といわれる注目のオハイオ州はじめ6州を制してその優位を固めた▲とはいえ3州を制したサントラム氏はじめ他候補もここで引く気配はない。この間、政策論争よりも中傷合戦が過熱し、ブッシュ元大統領の妻バーバラさんも「私が見た最悪のキャンペーン」と評した指名争いである。戦いの神に魅入られた人々の争闘はなおも続く▲激しい争いが人目を集めるのは世の常で、そこに水を差したいオバマ大統領も黙っていない。あえてスーパーチューズデーに会見を行い、イラン情勢での弱腰外交批判を繰り広げる各候補を無責任な好戦主義者に見立ててこき下ろした。こちらのチュール神も健在だ▲あと何カ月か不毛なののしり合いを聞かされる有権者もいやはや大変である。ここは民会と正義の神の顔も立ててフェアな政策論争はできないのか。
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