Maritsa
Nov 23, 2009, 11:14 AM
Post #37 of 45
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Re: [ken_in_dfw] Cleanest citiies in Mexico news item
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Ken: I went to my 40th class reunion this weekend, and it really made me stop and think. I thought back to the sixties when we protested the war in Vietnam, when we were fighting for civil rights, etc. I remember people saying, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem". I was very idealistic then, thought we had time, thought I would be one of those people who would implement change. But life got in the way and I left that job to others. Now I wonder if the solution is to move somewhere else, or stay and try to be part of the solution. I was never involved in politics - I thought that was the job of elected officials. Obviously, the elected officials are not concerned for the most part about the good of the people. They are looking out for themselves. I never was much interested in making a lot of money or manipulating the system, so I lived my life, worked, paid my taxes, obeyed the law, raised my children to the best of my ability and didn't get involved.
Many of my classmates have done well, and are obviously very comfortable now. I am not in that position. Was I stupid or simply different? I don't know. I think the pendulum has swung drastically in the opposite direction. In my youth I was concerned about racism and civil rights. Things needed to be changed so that everyone would have equal rights and opportunities. But people who have been on welfare for generations, don't know how to work, how to be responsible. Are we going to feed the people or teach them how to fish, so they won't go hungry? Now the pendulum has swung to the other side, where people think that they are somehow "entitled" to money, housing, child care, food, etc. I believe that people should have the right to work and raise their families, not expect to be handed everything.
I am in love with a Mexican man and want to be with him, as we are both older and don't know how long we have at this point. Yet Mexico does not permit people to enter its country and work, while the US has millions of Mexicans who want to stay here and prosper. If the US wants to get rid of indocumentados, OK, but then the government should say. "If you get a check every month, the bus will pick you up every morning and you will pick tomatoes, or dig potatoes, or wash windows, or clean up the streets, and then you will get your check. Enabling people to continue to be dependent on the government is not a good thing for anyone. And I don't think this is too much to ask. I have cleaned toilets, picked up garbage and done other menial tasks, as have many people who have pride and are willing to work. To sit around and resent those who have more money than I do, and think that they owe me is ridiculous.
I believe the US is in for some terrible times from which it may never recover if people are not willing to take responsibility for themselves. Do we stay and try to change it, or do we run to Mexico and badmouth the US from afar? I think that may be a cop out. Some people on this forum may badmouth the US and judge it, but that's the easy way out, as far as I am concerned. I have been to Mexico, but I am not an expert as some claim to be - at the same time, I know that Mexico is far from being paradise. Many people go to Mexico and try to turn it into the US, just as many tourists come to the Outer Banks because they love the way it is, and then try to turn it into NJ. The pioneers who settled in Texas fought and died for what they believed in, mixed with and learned to live with the Mexicans, built their lives on hard work and determination. They didn't run away.
So I am having a hard time right now trying to figure out what to do.
Barbara
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