Posted on 05/30/2002 9:34:12 AM PDT by Mad Dawgg
Tales Out Of School
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Aztlan Rising
By Jim Downard
Thirty years ago I sat in, of all places, a Taco Bell in San Antonio, Texas. I had finished basic training at Lackland Air Force Base (known sardonically to airmen everywhere as Happy Valley, USA) and was killing time before I started tech school.
As I munched on my tacos two young Hispanics distributed mimeographed leaflets to the restaurant’s patrons. Not to appear rude I accepted one. It referred to some place called Aztlan that would, like Atlantis or the South, rise again. I didn’t have a clue.
Later that afternoon I toured the Alamo and was unimpressed because it wasn’t any larger than the First Baptist Church here at home. I suppose I expected something larger and grander after seeing the John Wayne movie. Outside, I ran into a pal from my squadron and showed him the Aztlan leaflet.
"Where’s Aztlan, Ochoa?" I asked.
"You’re standing on it, man," he said, grinning.
"Aztlan is Texas?"
"Texas is what you Anglos call it," he explained, "Aztlan is its rightful name."
"Okay, but why does it need liberating?" I asked.
"Read your history books, man."
I later discovered that Aztlan was the name given to the mythical place of origin of the Aztecs. Chicanos (that’s what Hispanics were called in the 60’s and 70’s) had appropriated Aztlan as name for that portion of Mexico taken over by the U.S. after the Mexican-American War in 1846.
At the time I thought Mexico had as much chance of taking back Aztlan, or Texas and Southwest U.S., as I had of becoming a four star general.
Now I’m not so sure.
Demography is, as they say, destiny. California is almost 50% Hispanic. The Hispanic birth rate is several times that of the "Anglos." The border between the U.S. and Mexico is so porous as to be nonexistent.
So it comes as no surprise that in San Leandro, California, the local school system is thinking about scratching Abraham Lincoln’s birthday from the school calendar to make way to honor Chicano labor leader Cesar Chavez’s birthday. 65% of the local teachers union support the idea as do several members of the school board.
"The diversity of our community is growing," said Thomas Morse, political action chairman for the Union, and we want to honor our Latino families." School board member Louise Heysteck said he came up with the idea of celebrating Chavez’s birthday after checking his district’s demographics. "I hope our view of history does not remain stagnant."
To set aside a day to recall the life and work of the man who saved the Union is "stagnant"? To encourage Latinos to think of themselves as Latinos first and citizens of the American Republic is a good example of multiculturalism run amok. But as the Southwest becomes more Hispanic and less Anglo ethnically it’s more important than ever that young people learn American cultural and historical values.
Look at what happened to the multicultural approach in Canada. French language and culture were elevated to official status throughout the 60’s and 70’s in Quebec. It eventually spawned a secessionist movement and greater ethnic divisions between "Anglos" and French speakers in Quebec.
Multiculturalism will bear the same poisonous fruit in America simply because every community must have a set of core moral and cultural values that most, if not all members, of that society believe or, at least, accept.
American nationalism-what we usually call patriotism-needs to be nurtured and nourished or Aztlan will continue to rise with dire consequences for our country.
©2002 The Telegram Publishing Co., Inc
If you would like to drop Mr. Downard a line do so at telegram@zoomnet.net or better yet use the above email address to write a letter to the editor of the Telegram. Mr. Keller Loves to print well written letters from around the USA and abroad.
As far as political leaflets go, you should see the left-wing BS I used to be handed by the various Trotskyite and Greens when I was in college.
Morris Dees has his militia bogeyman--conservatives have the Aztlan bogeyman. Both are about equally based in reality.
They make great bogeymen, though!
I would gather Mr. Downard has the same take but is more worried about the issue presented further into the article (the removing of Abraham Lincoln's Birthday from the School Holiday Calendar and putting Chavez's in it's place) and the Trend Such thinking reveals.
These liberals will see what it is like to live in a "multicultural" sh!thole ruled by a people who will show absolutely NONE of the compASSion, tolerance or PC feel-good crap that led to this mess in the first place!
Maybe they will complain when they riot and loot their mansions in Beverly Hills and Malibu, maybe they'll change their ways when they have to pay outrageous "security fees" for protection! Maybe the rest of America will wake up and salvage what is left and stop it from happening everywhere else!
Or maybe we'll settle it in a military fashion, driving out (and/or mowing down) millions of unwanted, illegal invaders permanently.
1) The portion of Texas between the Nueces and Rio Grande was disputed between Texas and Mexico. There was a rather decisive war fought to settle that issue. The rest of the formerly Mexican land we got we bought, through the Mexican Cession of 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. All quite legal.
2) The Mexicans who have settled in this nation didn't leave Mexico to bring its corruption, rigid social hierarchies, and poverty here. Au contraire
3) The morons in the "Aztlan" movement are merely harmless wackos practicing their First Amendment rights until they actually try to do something about their ideas. At that point its called "insurrection", which is a principle discussed rather harshly in federal law. We have plenty of prison space for them, or they can occupy the land they so fevrently desire while looking up towards its surface. They should be reminded of this, regularly.
4) Any recognition of "Aztlan" groups by public schools or universities amounts to using tax dollars to support insurrection. If there aren't laws against this, there should be.
-Eric
http://www.bordergovernors.com/welcome.html
The governors of 4US and 6 Mexican border states belong to a Borders Governors club. They will have their annual conference in Phoenix next month.
Here they make use of a new term for the Mexican/American border.
". . .new international geography. The U.S.-Mexico border area. . ."
Welcome and feel free to explore the official web site for the XX Border Governors Conference. The unfortunate incidents of September 11th have drastically changed our global reality and with it the border between our two nations. This change creates new challenges and opportunities for those of us who live within the border region.
Globalization will be propelled by the large economic regions that compose
the new international geography. The U.S.-Mexico border,
presents such a region, a land of opportunity for many Mexicans and Americans. Their strong work ethic and attention to quality facilitate free trade as a part of their daily lives that benefits their communities and promotes economic development.
I invite you to browse through this site to learn not only about the great human and natural resources this region offers, but also the solutions that we provide for the day-to-day problems we face in the global dynamic.
With warm regards,
Patricio Martinez Garcia
Governor of Chihuahua
Border Governors Conference>©2001 Border Governors Conference/Conferencia de Gobernadores Fronterizos
Amen Brother, Amen!
"The diversity of our community is growing," said Thomas Morse, political action chairman for the Union, and we want to honor our Latino families." School board member Louise Heysteck said he came up with the idea of celebrating Chavez’s birthday after checking his district’s demographics. "I hope our view of history does not remain stagnant."
To set aside a day to recall the life and work of the man who saved the Union is "stagnant"? To encourage Latinos to think of themselves as Latinos first and citizens of the American Republic is a good example of multiculturalism run amok. But as the Southwest becomes more Hispanic and less Anglo ethnically it’s more important than ever that young people learn American cultural and historical values.
The 'new' disunionists.
No siree, let's get on the ball and sanitize "our view of history". Time to sanitize those text books and calendars so the young ones can begin to celebrate
"The Holiday formerly known as
President Lincoln's Birthday"
This is depressing.
There is power in numbers.
Good point, as long as those "bennies" remain in place. But with this country getting more and more socialistic all the time, the economic gaps may not be as wide as you may assume, at some point in the not-too-distant future.
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