The War of the Ads..en Español..

Last week many media outlets brought into perspective the ads that the present presidential candidates had directed at Hispanic voters.

The first Ad "Dos Caras" was put out by the Obama campaign.



This is in my opinion a poor attempt at using scare tactics and polarization techniques to infuriate Hispanic voters into voting against John McCain. Anybody who has followed John McCain knows that throughout his career he has angered many Republicans on capital hill and residents of his home state of Arizona for supporting legal immigration, his approval of using other languages in government (during debates in the primaries he said he supported the use of Native American languages and Spanish in his home state of Arizona), and his opposition to the building of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. By using the words of of Rush Limbaugh, who has engaged in bigotry and xenophobia in various occasions, and showing pictures of President Bush and Senator McCain, the Obama Campaign is misleading voters. Both President Bush and John McCain have been on the cross-hairs of Mr. Limbaugh for their views on immigration reform. Also showing Oil Pumps next to President Bush and Sen. McCain has become a cliché. I believe the Obama Campaign could have done better just by following the points he made in his Latino Blueprint for Change. This document makes very good points in areas which not only affect citizens of Hispanic heritage but all Americans.

Next we will look at John McCain's "Which side are they on?" ad.



This again uses clichés. Immigration, secure borders, etc... My wife, who is Spanish, is still waiting for her Permanent Residency card is hoping to become a U.S. Citizen soon. Unfortunately DHS is back-logged and she can't proceed with her citizenship application without her Permanent Residency card. So yes, immigration reform is an issue in our lives. Nevertheless, the most important issues affecting us at this moment are: the weakening dollar, the economy, rising crime, and a good education for our children. The McCain-Palin website actually has an all-Spanish website. This website is well laid out, and has the bona-fides that attract college-educated Hispanics and Hispanic Veterans. This leads me into his next ad directed at Hispanics.

God's Children.



Here the McCain campaign seems to be reaching out to Hispanic and immigrant veterans. It clearly addresses the issues that many immigrant-soldiers have. I have been there in Iraq and Afghanistan with immigrants who are willing to put their life on the line to serve their country. I also read the story of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Roy Benavidez which had to wait many years to receive the medal. Roy Benavidez and people in his Chain of Command believed his medal was held back because he was of Hispanic heritage. This ad also reaches towards people in his own party which call themselves religious, but are callously opposing immigration due to xenophobic tendencies. By calling immigrants "God's Children" he is clearly calling for sympathy among those in his party which oppose his views on immigration and language issues.

In the end I believe that Hispanics should vote according to their individual concerns. If I were to make suggestions to the campaigns it would be the following. Barack Obama should not waste time attacking McCain in Spanish or any other language. He is charismatic, and his "blueprint" does a good job of showing the issues and how he intends to solve them. If he wants to cater to a constituency which is 44 million strong or approximately 15% of the general population, he should reach out with ideas that go beyond those 44 million. Education, the economy, better health care for all Americans. For the McCain campaign I would say that it is wise to reach out to Hispanics while at the same time easing tensions against Hispanics and other immigrants among conservatives. Also McCain and Obama should not be afraid to support a fair immigration policy, and continue supporting Mexico, Central America, and South American countries which embrace democracy. It would be a real pity if the progress made towards stable democratic governments in Latin America were undone by Drug Lords, Belligerent Dictators, and the growing interest of Russia and Iran in our neighboring countries.

Various Perspectives

This week was a little unusually quiet in the immigration debate. It seems that the debate on immigration has gone down the list below energy and the health of the economy. The major news outlets did not have much to offer on the subject. I found the following website that has links to immigration stories from across the country http://idexer.com/. The website has a notable anti-immigrant bias, but it is not my position to question the intents of the people who publish this website. Henry Bonilla in an article in The Pueblo Chieftan said that he felt insulted that Democrats automatically assume that Latino voters are going to vote for them. I do agree that no party should automatically assume that all Latinos or Hispanics are going to vote one way or another. This is frankly because, as I have stated before, Hispanics are a Heterogeneous group of people. About the only trait in common that most Hispanics have is that they are Christian. That being said there are Hispanics from all sort of Demographical backgrounds. His next comment seemed short sighted "Don't you think it's insulting that they assume they have your support if your skin is a few shades darker?" By saying this Henry Bonilla is automatically assuming that all Latinos are of Mestizo or Native American ancestry. Congressman Bonilla is forgetting about all the other Hispanics which are of White, Black, and Asian ancestry.

The next article of interest was an article talking about a small town in Alabama which went on a recruting trip to the Phillipines to find teachers for their community. The article talked about successful programs which have been integrated into schools which have had problems finding qualified teachers locally. It also points to the demand in the United States for qualified workers and the willingness of employers to go overseas to find them. Another recent report showed that Congress is considering raising the amount of Guest Worker Visas to 550,000. The current unemployment rate in the United States are estimated to be at 6.1%. Ever since studying Economics at my University I have seen how the forces of supply and demand shape movement of captial and resources throughout economies. Human capital is not immune to these forces. In fact the very capitalism that many people of conservative political ideologies follow is what allows employers to look at the global market place to find the most suitable employees. Emotionally many Americans feel slighted by businesses and politicians that allow immigrant workers to take jobs from "hard working Americans". Still the declining U.S. educational system, especially in Math and Science, is pretty much guaranteeing that American businesses, Hospitals, Universities, and Schools are going to need to look overseas to keep providing quality services and remain competitive at a global level. In conclusion I believe that we need to look at all the issues that relate to a particular subject. In this case I believe that Immigration can be influenced by Economics and the current state of Education in this country. Therefore instead of blaming immigrants we should look at the problems that need to be fixed.

Introduction

2008, the year of change. It seems that politically we are at a crossroads, or maybe this is just more of the same. Still we need to be positive. Hope is not a method, yet it does give us energy to move forward in life with a more positive attitude. The past year has given me much to think about though. My son is in his first year of life, and I tend to think more on how to be constructive in his life so that he can eventually grow up to be a good man.  With this in mind I have to look at an important part of his life, which is also an important part of mine. He, like me, will grow up being bilingual and a part of two different cultures.

Hispanic, I tend to relate this word to its Latin roots in reference to all Spanish speaking people similarly to Francophone for French speakers or Anglophone for English Speakers.  According to the U.S. Census bureau in 2006 there were 44 million people of Hispanic origin in the United States. This means that there are more Spanish speakers in the United States than in many Latin American countries, it also means that there are more Spanish Speakers in the U.S. than in Spain. Still, given the recent political climate, a stigma has been placed on Hispanics given the polarizing issue of immigration. 

I believe the biggest mistake that non-Hispanics (and even some Hispanics) make is that they group all Hispanics into one large group. Even offensive to some people is that some people group all Hipanics as Mexicans. To be Mexican is to either possess the Mexican nationality or to be of Mexican heritage. This does not include people who come from the dozens of other Spanish speaking nations. Therefore Argentinians, Panamanians, Puerto Ricans, and Peruvian people should not be called Mexicans, because, well they are not from Mexico.

Although I was born in the United States, I lived for many years in Mexico. Through this experience I can tell you that to make blanket statements about Mexicans would grossly underestimate the many different ethnic and cultural groups found within Mexico. In Mexico I have met Asian, German, Scottish, and Black Mexicans. Also Mexicans like to associate themselves with regional groups taking pride in being called Regios, Jarochos, Chilangos, Tapatios, and Yucatecos.

My point is that to make generalized statements about all Hispanics is blatently erroneous. Recently some media outlets have made it a point to compare the rising Hispanic population to a sort of invasion. Some politicians have even gone so far as to say that Hispanics have no concept of what it means to have democratic values. Some seem to insinuate that to hold on to a language or a culture constitutes being un-American. I am currently and Active member of the U.S. military, and have served in 5 war campaigns. I have lost many good friends, but I will continue to serve and fight to defend this great nation. I have been a registered Republican since I first registered to vote. I hold strongly to my faith in God, and in humanity. Having said this, I am worried about an apparent intolerance to my heritage among many so-called "conservatives". 

I intend to look at current media reports from all points of view, and analyze them for certain inconsistencies. The media can have a polarizing effect on people, and it is vital that all points of view are heard objectively. In the end citizens that can learn to use the strengths found in all the people of their nation will eventually find themselves stronger as a whole.