Czech-Americans as divided by Presidential election as the rest of the US
Around 1.5 million Americans claim Czech identity. Czech Radio spoke to some of them and here is a snapshot of their opinions before the historic presidential election.
In Waco, Texas, the Czech community recently celebrated Independence Day at a local brewery, enjoying goulash, pork knee, and dancing to the music of a brass band. Texas, along with Illinois and California, has one of the largest numbers of Americans claiming Czech heritage. Given its long border with Mexico, immigration is seen as a very important issue. Adam, a civil engineer, is planning to vote for the Republican candidate:
“So, I’m going to vote for Trump—not over the border issue, but because I think, in general, the Democratic Party of the US is moving more towards a semi-socialist democracy where the government’s becoming a bigger and bigger part of people’s lives, and I don’t really support that. I’ve seen that used in other places, and I don’t think it works out that well. So, I’m going to vote for Trump.”
About a three-hour drive further south is Houston, home to another Czech-American, George Matcek:
“I think it’s a country with a lot of challenges. You know, we’ve got not only the immigration problem, we’ve got a crime problem, we’ve got some real macroeconomic problems with our $33 trillion debt. So, yeah, there are some obstacles that we’re going to have to deal with going forward, and somebody better figure out the solution really quick.”
So, which of the two main presidential candidates has such a solution?
“Clearly Trump does, because he has a plan. I haven’t really heard much of a plan from his opponent, Vice President Harris, other than that she wants to raise taxes a lot. And I would ask you: name a country that got prosperous by taxing its people really heavily. You take the money away from people, you don’t make the country richer. So, you know, that’s really not a solution. The solution is to make the economy better, and I haven’t heard anything from her as to how she’ll do that.”
Julie Urbišová, a journalist who has found a new home in New Orleans, shares a different perspective:
“I think each election is important, no matter if it’s on a local level or a presidential level. Of course, this year it looks like it’s a very, very important election. Somebody just asked me the other day if we’re going to defend American democracy in these elections. I would say yes, I believe so, but also just for a regular person, for a regular American, and as a mother, I think we are actually choosing the person who’s going to be our moral authority, right, for the next four years.”
“What we have here as a threat, to me, is Donald Trump actually being that example for my children. The way he speaks, the way he speaks about minorities, about immigrants—that’s something we shouldn’t have as the highest authority in the state.”
Finally, Julie would like to pass on a message she overheard on the radio:
“As a reminder of how important these elections are, I was listening to a local radio station last night on my way home, the local National Public Radio station. It was just a music program playing songs with patriotic lyrics, and as the speaker was finishing his show, he said it really nicely. I really liked that, and I would like to mention it today: each election is about power, right? The politicians, they need the power — that’s what they want from the elections. And we, as people, have the power to vote. So he said, okay, show your power, people, and go vote for democracy and freedom.”
