Did you catch this?
As we continue to analyze the Mother Jones video of Mitt Romney speaking at a private fundrai$er to top elites, we want to hone in on when he stated:
”….we’re having a much harder time with Hispanic voters. And if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American voting bloc has in the past, why we’re in trouble as a party and, I think, as a nation.”
Why does Romney believe that an increase in the Latino voting block would spell trouble for our Nation?
Did Romney forget Latinos are patriotic, and more importantly did he forget the contributions we made to this great Nation?
Then of course, what would you expect from Romney when he dodged the draft 4 different times?
What basis does Romney have to believe voting Latinos would spell trouble for our Nation when we have a strong history of defending Her?
When is Mitt Romney and the GOP going to figure out that you cannot win the hearts of Latinos by demonizing us?
Throughout my Air Force career, I met many citizens and noncitizens as I worked and trained with Marines, Army, Navy, and civil authorities. I had the opportunity to serve with fellow Latino soldiers who came from other countries, who told me they joined the United States military so they could work toward American citizenship. Naturally, this made quite an impression on me to see others risking their lives to become Americans.
I do not believe the mainstream media does an adequate job in portraying Hispanic patriotism. In fact, living in Arizona, I often see Hispanic people being demonized and portrayed in a negative light by isolationists.
Hispanic patriots have fought for the United States since the American Revolution. Many Hispanics served as “rough riders” with Teddy Roosevelt and were recognized for their patriotism under the former president.
During World War I, approximately one third of the U.S. population was recent immigrants; the United States implemented a draft for the war effort. Ten years after the war, the economy slowed down and the U.S. adopted a repressive anti-immigration policy against “Mexicans,” using mass deportation roundups and repatriation that forced many established Hispanics out of their homes and separated families. These events occurred during the economic depression of 1929–1939 in a backlash to create jobs for European Americans. Thus, they deprived Hispanics of their public– and private-sector jobs and ignored many past contributions to the military and our nation. Similarly, social and economic strains were evident in 1953–1954 as sweeps from “Operation Wetback” deported 1,874,431 illegal Mexicans.
Although it seems that the media does not do enough to portray patriotic Latinos and their contributions to American wars, let us not be dismayed. Instead, let us all remember great leaders in American history, and create a culture of unity. We must take on the mantle from Latino Veteran leaders such as Dr. Hector P. Garcia as we continue to see “Operation Wetback” programs rear it’s ugly head in the form of SB 1070.
We must fight the good fight in countering the people who demonize Latinos, and we do it by reminding the public of Latino Veteran contributions to our country. We counter isolationists by reminding the public of the economic contributions given by Hispanics, but most importantly, we remind the public that “All Men Are Created Equal”.
We must help our fellow brothers and sisters by getting them to be more politically involved. We must take control of our own destinies and change what we can change while praying to our Creator for the things beyond our control.