Life in Ink and Footsteps

When I got to this part, I really wasn’t sure if I should write about it or just skip it. People get very passionate about politics, and not always in the most polite way. But this is my story, my past, and my experiences as I went through them during those times. So here we go.

I swear I am not going to be political here. First of all, I don’t know shit about the politics of my own country, let alone one with a completely different system like the USA. And second of all, I didn’t really give a shit back then. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t care about politics, but I do have some opinions nowadays and things I believe in. That was not the case 8 years ago. My background is privileged. My family might not be rich; oftentimes we were not even middle class, but we always had food to eat, a safe place to live, and clean clothes to wear. I come from a country where education is free and available for everyone, where all basic healthcare is covered by national insurance that is mandatory for every single person so that no one goes without care.

I was raised in a place where people do not have easy access to guns because there is no reason for it—there was never a fear of being killed at school, the mall, or just on a street for crossing into the wrong neighborhood. I lived in a country where I could have my own voice and say my opinions freely. It is not perfect—of course not, nothing is. There are a lot of problems in Czechia, but where aren’t there? The fact that I am safe, free to study, and have access to healthcare is a privilege I didn’t realize I had until I started living abroad. So no, at the age of 21, I didn’t care about politics. Why would I? My life was fine; I didn’t have to worry about my rights being taken away or anything like that. So I went with the flow. I read about the candidates for elections, chose the one I liked the most, and voted. Most of the time, nothing much changed, so who really cared?

So imagine my surprise when the famous elections of 2016 came to be. For obvious reasons, I am not going to give any names—I still like to go to America from time to time. I was flabbergasted by the passion, hate, fear, and accusations that came out of people. And not just strangers—no, no sir. Friends, families, coworkers—all separated into two almost military-like groups, shouting at each other about why their candidate was better and should win. I did not understand what was going on. Until the mom sat with me one afternoon and explained what it would mean for certain groups of people if one or the other candidate won the election. She explained the election system and the power the president of the United States actually has. That was surprising to me. I didn’t understand why one person should have so much power in a democracy. It was vastly different from my own experiences and made no sense to me.

Then she added that on top of that, each state has its own rights and laws, which confused me even more. She continued by saying that some states are a certain way because people there are very religious. And that blew my mind completely. Czechia is the most atheistic country in the world, according to Google, so the idea that religion should have any say in law just didn’t sit right with me. In all honesty, it still doesn’t. I do not believe that faith should affect the law. There, I said it.

After this, I started paying way more attention to the energy and opinions around me. What did the family members think? What about some of the boys I was going on dates with? What about the au pairs—what was their take as expats? It was quite interesting. There was no clear winner; even between the people around me, the opinions were split somewhat in the middle. Half of the family was pro-female, the other pro-that guy. Mr. FoodAdventures A. was also pro-that guy. I remember driving in a car with him and asking his opinions about it while eating a bagel and drinking black coffee. I remember being really confused because he was talking calmly and gave some good arguments. They sounded good to me, but I also know nothing. So maybe they were not smart—maybe they were genius. I honestly don’t know. But I was confused because the other side also had some smart arguments. So how do you make a decision of such importance if both sides have good points? I don’t know. And I didn’t really care all that much.

When election time came, the whole country was buzzing. The energy was frantic, like before a huge storm. Things were about to change. I remember sitting in front of the TV with the family while the votes were being counted. Each state started to change color depending on which candidate won there. It was nerve-wracking. And it didn’t even matter to me personally, but you had to react as well. It was that powerful. And then it was decided. Not all votes were in yet, but the important states already made the winner clear. Which also doesn’t make sense to me, but you do you, America.

A lot of people were happy and ecstatic with the results, but many were not. The protests started almost immediately. I saw one the next weekend when I was in the city. Thousands upon thousands of people were marching across the streets of Manhattan, shouting, carrying banners, and demanding something. I’m not sure what exactly they were trying to do—the votes were in and the election was finished—but they marched nonetheless. And it was powerful and slightly terrifying. I had never seen a crowd of people so connected, united, and following the same thought. So I watched for a minute, and then guess what? I went on with my day.

I pretty much forgot this part of my time in America. Like I said, it didn’t feel personal to me. I didn’t understand the impact it could and would have on international politics as well—this was not my country or my people. I hadn’t thought about it until almost 8 years later, in the summer of 2024, when I went to New York for the first time since my time as an au pair ended. Until I met with Mr. FoodAdventure A. again, until we sat in his car in a parking lot, eating bagels—still egg everything with cream cheese lox—and drank iced tea. And we talked about elections again. Since the same candidate is running again, and against a woman nonetheless. A. still supports that guy, and while he has his reasons, my opinions are clear this time, and they don’t align with his. We’ve had many discussions about it, but what I’ve come to realize is that our political differences don’t define our friendship. No matter who he votes for, he’s still the friend who introduced me to amazing food and shared countless adventures. Our disagreements don’t erase the history we’ve built, and that’s something I value more than politics. In the end, we had a good laugh about how history repeats itself in the most magical and perverse ways.

So, who is going to be the next president this time? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

I honestly had no idea which song to choose from the playlist. Nothing really screams “politics” in there, because, well, why would it? So just sit back, chill, and relax with this beautiful piece.
Mountains – Message To Bears.