THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 2, January 2, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
"AZTLAN": A WARPED VISION OF HISTORY TO JUSTIFY
DISLOYALTY TO & SUBVERSION OF THE U.S.A.:
LATINO SEPARATISM IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
By Jack Ward
As the U.S.A. began to grow, immigrants started flowing into this new land of opportu- nity. Immigrants from Europe and Asia made up the majority of the newcomers. Thou- sands of miles of ocean separated the newcomers from their old homeland. The remote- ness from their roots made it a little easier to ’cut the ties“ from the homeland and assimilate into a new ’American“ culture. For the last several decades, immigration (illegal and legal) from Mexico has increased significantly, and Mexico is now a major source of immigrants. But the closeness of Mexico made the acceptance of the American culture a lower priority for Mexican immigrants than it had been for immigrants in the past. In many cases, crossing the U.S.–Mexican border is as easy as moving from state to state. In less than a days drive, someone can leave anywhere in the American South- west and be in Mexico. The closeness of one's original homeland makes acceptance of their new homeland less critical.
Most of those emigrating from Mexico have become naturalized U.S. citizens and pro- ductive and loyal members of American socirty. Unfortunately, some embittered Latino (Hispanic) intellectuals (on both sides of the border) have maintained that most of the southwestern U.S.A. belongs to Mexico. They also believe that, as a result of the South- west belonging to Mexico, there should be no border control between Mexico and the U.S.A.Their rantings have convinced many that the southwestern U.S.A. really belongs to Mexico. This view is reflected in a recent Zogby poll. The poll revealed that 58% of Mexicans believe that the southwestern U.S.A. belongs to Mexico. That probably explains why 60% of Mexicans believe there should be no border control.
One of the promoters of this idea is Professor Charles Truxillo, Instructor of Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and self-described disciple of Chicano- Marxist terrorist Reies Lopez Tijerina. Tijerina and his terrorist group have been advocating retaking the Southwest since the mid-l960s. In June, 1967, Tijerina led his gang in an assault on the courthouse in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico. During the attack. he proved that his violence was non-discriminatory. They shot fellow Mexican-American jailer Eugolio Salazar in the face, pistol whipped fellow Mexican-American Undersheriff Dan Rivera, and killed fellow Mexican-American Deputy Sheriff Nicainor Saizan. The gang also took 20 local citizens hostage in the courthouse before fleeing town.
Tijerina claims that "this new territory" (the American Southwest) is the ’Nation of Aztlan“ and includes California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and the southern part of Colorado. Tijerina declared "exclusive and supreme" powers "within our territorial jurisdiction, over all persons and property situated therein, to the exclusion of all other countries and governments."
It is disturbing that educators like Charles Truxillo look to anarchists like Tijerina for moral leadership and historical vision. As a result of this warped sense of morals and history, educators like Charles Truxillo, maintain that the area from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico belongs to Mexico and advocate the secession, or separation, of this area from the U.S.A..
Truxillo and educators of his ilk are performing a disservice to their students by distort- ing history, preaching hate, and inciting violence. The curriculum sounds frighteningly like the message Muslim clerics preach at their Madrassas. Truxillo maintains that the new country should be created "by any means necessary". And, after the 1995 Latino Summit, representatives of the "Brown Berets de Aztlan," a Chicano paramilitary group, has threatened to "make the streets run red" with their opponent's
blood.
This militant rhetoric isn’t restricted to Tijerina, or the “Brown Berets de Aztlan.” The Aztlan movement is supported by high profile militant separatist groups that are active on high school and university campuses. MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) and La Raza (the Race) are just two of such groups.
Miguel Perez of Cal State-Northridge's MEChA chapter said, "The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest [to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence: Non-Chicanos [Anglo-American Whites, Black Amer- icans, etc.] would have to be expelled … opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power." It sounds like the advocates of Aztlan preach the same phi- losophy advocated by Osama bin Laden and his al-Qa'ida buddies.
It should be no surprise that the area in dispute was spelled out in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the U.S.–Mexican War. In the treaty, Mexico relin- quished control of the area in exchange for $15 million, plus the U.S. government assumption of millions of dollars of Mexico’s debt. But the believers in Aztlan want to rewrite history and void the treaty.
The Aztlan agitators who claim the U.S.A. stole the area have forgotten that, in 1848, Mexico exercised very little control over the area, that less than 1% of Mexico’s popu- lation was in the area, and no valuable minerals had been discovered.
Astute geopolitical observers have suggested that it may have been better for all con- cerned (the U.S.A. and Mexico) if, at the end of the war, the U.S.A. had seized all of Mexico. No one can deny that the territory in question has prospered during the 154 years it has been an integral part of the U.S.A. and has been governed under the U.S. Constitution and the American free market philosophy, while poverty still exists south of the border.
Without the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the U.S. southwest might still look like Ti- juana. Disbelievers need only walk across the border between San Diego and Tijuana to see the stark contrast.
The agitators call themselves the "Bronze People" and claim Aztlan is theirs. They have stated, "Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops, and not to the foreign Europeans." I’m afraid that these misguided agitators have forgotten the strong cultural, religious, and ethnic influence that France and Spain (both European countries) have had on Mexico. If Aztlan supporters insist on denying or rejecting the European roots of Mexicans and overemphasizing totally embracing the Amerindian (American Indian) roots, maybe they should abandon Spanish (a European language) and adopt Aztec or Mayan as the new language of their imaginary nation of Aztlan.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Immigration, Illegal Aliens, & Latino Immigrants
Copyright 2002 SierraTimes.Com
Reprinted with Permission of SierraTimes.Com
Reprinted from SierraTimes.Com
December 30, 2002
SierraTimes.Com
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