Sunday, April 16, 2006

Why Hasn't Mexico Stepped Up to the Plate Rather than Up to the Table?

One thing that I have not seen in the media, is the opinion of WHY so many people seek to leave their homeland and come here. I think it has a great deal to do with Mexico's abdication of responsibility in regards to the safety and welfare of the majority of its population. In all candor, I can't say I would do any differently if faced with the graft-ridden government that claims to function on behalf of the Mexican people. I think on Vicente Fox's part there is a certain amount of cultural grandstanding which has led to the two-fold issue of playing the race card and making a claim upon the "return of Atzlan". Both of these should be non-starters, but the media gives those views play without asking what Mexico has done for its own people.
I work with a very well-educated lady from Mexico City, and the kids she is seeing at the high school level are not only unable to read and speak English, but are largely illiterate in Spanish. English is a minor hurdle because if the child is fluent in Spanish, there are ways to reach common ground and common goals. But if the student is illiterate in their own tongue, they have the double whammy of ignorance of their own language and inability to reach understanding of the language that will provide them economic gain. Mexico is relying on the U.S. to provide education and health care and other services because it chooses NOT to provide those things. Add to that the millions of dollars of U.S. currency that flow into Mexico keeping its economy afloat, and there is no reason for Mexico to even try to enforce its borders.
We must change that. We need to make it costly to employ undocumented workers, more expensive to send money out of the country and harder to obtain services without documentation. Even France, that bastion of the politically correct and socially progressive, makes people have some sort of proof of entitlement before giving services. I don't think it is too much to expect at least a minimal adherence to our laws and standards.
It's galling to have someone break the law by entering illegally, using bogus Social Security numbers and avoid paying their share of the burden and then having that same person DEMAND that their views be catered to. It's an insult to the millions who have come here before LEGALLY and those who wait patiently to do the same.

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