The truth is politics never really interested me. PJ, Chris’s father was a „news-maniac”, he listened, watched the news at every hour, and he kept berating me, for „only seeing what is under my nose”, while I always thought, he was hiding away from his everyday-problems behind the world’s news.
Of course, I always voted, and always had opinions,
but never interested me deeply, and I was very careful not to let my opinion
seen, let’s say on the social media, even as much as a like.
All this changed, when they very spectacularly, forcefully,
and I am sure, for some pity revenge, they took away the special entrepreneur
tax, KATA, and not only took it away, making these people pay double, but they
were called swindling, thieving traitors, pulling the rug under many hundreds
of thousands of entrepreneurs, who, instead of using the government’s
money/aid, were trying to make do from their own (human) resources, without
getting any paid vacation days, subsidiary, etc.
I’ve seen Ervin Nagy at a poem-and songs event, and
admittedly, I was not taken with him. He was seating, with his legs apart, his
jeans threadbare at his crotch (I am a dressmaker, I notice clothes), with
slightly bored face, while others were reciting/singing. Sometime later, there
was the case between the dubbing studios and the payment of dubbing actors,
that blew up especially because of some Marvel movies, and as a translator,
dealing with dubbing studios, I understood their problem, even if translators
are even worst paid than actors. Anyhow, as I watched his actions, I started
thinking, now, he IS a guy, who, if decided to go into politics, I could vote
for- without having qualms.
When Peter Magyar popped up on the scene, I though,
finally, a guy, who has balls to stand up to the current regime. I said, these
two could really do something. Two days later Ervin Nagy announced that he will
join forces with Peter Magyar, and from then, I watched them even more closely.
Yes, I know, he came from the inner circle of FIDESZ,
and yes, I have my reservations, but if nothing else: he stood up, rallied up
so many people, and made us believe that change IS possible. He might be an
egoist, he might be only good at marketing, he can be many things. HOWEVER,
what this man carried out either physically, with going around in the country,
either with how he stood and took all the slaps, all the blows, all the shit
the current regime could throw at him, how they looked not only his bedroom,
but even under his smallclothes, how they tried to get a handle on him, and he
was not falling over, he did not even bend… that deserve my respect.
And not the least, quoting a well-known standup
comedian, when your house is on fire, and a firefighter arrives, you don’t
start to complain, that he is not the type of firefighter you imagined. And our
house is blazing. Not a little.
With all that, I have no illusions.
Almost 20 years ago, when, after nearly 20 years, I
was trying to get out of an –emotionally- abusive relationship, a friend said
to me: I can’t say, it is going to be easy, because it will not. It will be darned
hard (she used a different word, but you get the meaning). It will be so hard,
sometimes you’ll think, you gonna die. But, believe me, it WILL be BETTER.” She
was right. I try to pass this on, whenever I am talking to someone trying to
get out of an abusive relationship.
I think the very same thing about the time that is
coming. Unbelievable, but we did it. We ousted the Orban government, to quote
he famous poem „Ships may sail above the flow, and the water runs below, at the
end only the water rules” (my translation). On Sunday night (rather the wee
hours of Monday), I went to bed being proud to be a Hungarian once again.
However, we have to know, what comes will not be a picnic in the park. There
will be empty treasury, scorched – not only scorched but salted land, burned
bridges, deep trenches, hidden bombs and skeletons falling out of everywhere,
for all of which the new leadership will be blamed, even if the old one is
guilty. It will be hell of a difficult job, lot of work and energy, and
sacrifice to climb out of this one. Let’s tie up the bloomers or whatever needs
tying up, collect all our might, and watch, watch very closely, so we should
not have to make another system changing revolution again.
