Turning Over America

By Roy D. Follendore III

August 15, 2006

Democracy is fragile because it defines the way that the majority rules.

It can be pleasant to take a vacation or a business trip down to Mexico City and witness the wonderful ways in which the Mexican people live. Mexico is indeed a very beautiful country that has a unique rhythm. Its music and food is amazing and its people can be extremely accommodating and gracious to visitors. It is a country that is rich in culture and ancient history.

But if you open your eyes to the reality that surrounds all of that beauty you can see that it is also an uncomfortable and disturbing place. To visually see the reality of Mexico from the comfort of your home, all you have to do is get on Google Earth and take a virtual visit to Mexico.

From a satellite view you can witness the fact that in Mexico the rich appear to be very rich and the poor are very poor. I am no expert on the plight of Mexicans, but in the 1990's I did take a business trip to Mexico City. I was shocked to see military style guards with submachine guns patrol the fancy neighborhoods. It looked like the Middle East. I was told by my hosts that this situation was common in the expensive neighborhoods because of the tremendous risk of kidnappings.

I know from experience that one can drive just a block further from the nice homes and you may see the most abysmal poverty. A woman carrying a thin and sick child might knock on the window of your car to ask for food. Like that woman's child, Mexico is sick. Something is wrong, very wrong in Mexico but as an outsider you can't quite put your finger on the reasons for it. Mexico obviously has wealth and beauty, fantastic culture and great food. The people that I met there were wonderful and gracious. Unlike the United States, Mexico does not easily present itself in terms of black and white issues. For an outsider it is difficult to see the class distinctions in terms of racial bigotry.

Historically, Mexico is a country and a culture that originated and has risen throughout the centuries, and arising from the almost total domination by Spain. The Western influence began with the plunder and genocidal massacre of the natives by murderous religious fanatics. Of course, the native leadership at that time can also be represented in today's terms as murderous religious fanatics themselves. In their sacrificial temples tribal leaders committed public mass murders in the heart of the city. Violence, economic and social repression are of course a very effective ways of obtaining and maintaining cultural control and dominance over other tribes. It is no wonder that Mexicans want to live in the United States. In general, one can easily argue that they always have and many Mexican Americans have become quite successful after moving to the United States. But many Americans, including Mexicans who have legally become United States citizens, fear most is the issue of importing the endemic problems of Mexico with illegal immigrants. It is fitting that United States citizens are and should be first and foremost United States citizens.

We have seen the Mexican immigration protests in the news and many United States citizens fear the predictions that the Mexican population will be taking over. Instead being fearful, I believe that all Americans need to ask these tough questions head on.

Do these immigration protests actually mean that there is a conspiracy to undermine the United States? The fact is that everyone in some way is conspiring to undermine the United States. Progress and due diligence become impossible without some notion of conspiracy.

Is it simply an accident that these protests are taking place at a point in our history where the United States is over extended? I would have to ask the question; When exactly is a good time when the United States is not over extended? We are always overextended.

What message other than revolution is being sent when foreign students come into our country illegally and then take down our flag for theirs? I say, isn't this exactly part of the underlying problem? If they are in our High Schools then we are obligated to be teaching them.

By replacing our flag with theirs, are Mexicans communicating that they intend to replace our notions of leadership with theirs? Of course they are saying this. Mexican Americans deserve to participate in the leadership of our nation. But what they are not saying through their actions is that as a whole they don't understand the problems that they would be facing in assuming this leadership. We must not forget that a flag is simply a colorful rag to which we choose to attach all sorts of meaning. It is the concept behind the flag that is important. There is all sorts of room for misinterpetation. The bottom line is that it is the balance of power that becomes the risk of a Mexican assumption of leadership. I would suggest that much like the rest of us who have lived here all of our lives, newly arrived Mexican immigrants don't understand the larger United States perspective better than they understand their own, and this is part of their educational process as well as ours.

Can existing Mexican values and judgments replace our values? I would say that this is impossible. Merging cultures absorb each others perspectives. Illegal immigrants have already absorbed most of our ideals about democracy, freedom and prosperity. In light of that, lets rephrase this question.

Are illegal immigrants actually saying that they are the future leaders of the United States? Yes, like the rest of our cultures they are, but along with this leadership comes the burdens of responsibility.

I think that there are explanations that need to be openly discussed in public.

Many United States citizens understand that Mexicans have overpopulated their homeland, and through corruption ruined their environment and their economy appears to them beyond repair. We have done a lot of this sort of thing ourselves. Perhaps we are now just awaking to the fact that there has long been an invasion taking place. It appears on the surface that with regard to both the political standards and its culture, Mexican immigrants are in direct opposition with our values. Maybe not. We should have a dialogue about this.

The fact remains that democracy by its very definition allows for the majority to rule. Possession of a majority vote is nine tenths of the law. If this is true then perhaps we are in fact turning our nation over to the citizens of Mexico. With our United States Congress so split between artificial liberal and conservative ideals, maybe it will soon even become the legal thing to do. Lets stick to American ideals. The question each American must ask themselves is if it is the right thing to do.

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