| | |  Editorials | September 2008 
Does This Sound Familiar?
 Paul Brinkley-Rogers - La Voz
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The terrible state of the economy in the United States should make anyone trying to make a life here as an undocumented person think carefully before deciding that the USA is a better choice than Mexico or Central America.
If you are a Mexican, or Guatemalan, Honduran, Salvadoran, Dominicano, Cubano - whatever - ask yourself if these following statements sound familiar?
More and more U.S. citizens think their government is corrupt and unresponsive.
The rich almost magically stay rich, and the middle classes and poor get poorer.
Banks fail. The value of the currency starts to decline. The government prints more money to pay for debt made necessary by financial bailouts of banks led by greedy executives with friends in government.
Law enforcement starts engaging in vendettas and becomes the arm of persecution, rather than the arm of protection, as in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and other officials.
Unemployment starts to rise. More and more people are laid off from work. People are unable to pay their bills, and they lose their houses, the cars, and the toys of the good life.
The government is fixated on using violence to solve problems: as in Iraq, Afghanistán, Pakistan, the war on drugs, the idea of militarizing the border with Mexico, Plan Colombia, and threats real or imagined against Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and other countries.
Federal, state and local administrations lose touch with the people, so that the people they are supposed to serve and represent lose faith: as in widespread disgust at the way government runs in Washington.
Politicians cook up sweet déals for themselves and their relatives. Politics has nothing to do with running a country and everything to do with disfunctional partisanship, name calling, vindictiveness and outright lies, especially during national elections.
Again, I ask, does any of this sound familiar to someone who decided to come to the USA in search of a new and better life?
If you left Mexico, for example, because you could not depend on the police and the courts to be reliable, and professional, are you feeling safe in Arizona?
If you left Mexico because the economy there could not provide enough jobs, or because the currency was weak, or you were afraid to give your money to banks, do you have more trust in American institutions?
If you had hoped that by coming north that you could buy a house, start a business, make investments, and save money for your old age, are you feeling more secure knowing that the US economy almost collapsed a few days ago?
If you could not find a job in Mexico that would pay you a salary you could depend on, with benefits, and with a future, are you not worried about your next pay check here and about the future of yourself and your family members?
Have you already cut back on, or stopped sending remittances to your relatives and loved ones in Mexico, because your living expenses in the USA were making your generosity more and more impossible?
Have you become concerned about the emphasis on national security in the USA? What do you think about the plans of both Presidential candidates – John McCain and Barack Obama – to finish building a wall between the United States and Mexico, before attempting to make immigration laws fair and humane?
Does it make sense to work toward becoming a U.S. citizen, or being granted legal residency in this country, if many Americans are not happy with their homeland and its leaders?
Does it, in fact, make more sense to be Mexican, or Central American?
2001 Pulitzer Prize Winner - rog39(at)yahoo.com |
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