| The Warden |
11-14-2004 05:10 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by KirkVining
The unification of the US and Mexico is inevitable. Its already occurred in my opinion. They are on their way to becoming the majority in this country, and once they are, the official unification will occur. We actually would both benefit from it - they have lots of oil and unexplored oil potential, and despite the rampant crime the majority, decent Mexican people are a highly moral people who value family above all else, which is one of the things that makes them such good workers and such a good fit in American society. They desperately need an American style system of justice, and they know it, which is one of the reasons I believe they would do it in a heart beat - the majority of Mexicans would do anything to get out from under the yoke of the corrupt politicians, police and gangs that rule Mexico. It would also right two great wrongs - one the denial of democractic rights like the right to representation when subject to taxation, and another great historical wrong, the theft of half of Mexico by our fore-fathers. The Mexican War was one of the great wrongs of US history, and in many ways, the sympathy I feel for these people is that this used to be their land and in many ways they have as much right to be here as I do. They are not exactly foreigners, in fact many of them are also descended from Indians who fled our genocidal massacres of these people. Indian cuture survived in Mexico because the Pope forbed the murder and enslavement of them, which is why there are millions of Indians in Mexcio and only a few hundred thousand here in the States. I would say that the great majority of Mexicans that come here are descended from those Indians - in other words they are our own people coming back.
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Kirk, how do you think nationalism comes into play regarding Mexico annexing itself to the U.S.? Also, if we did gain Mexico, it seems to me that drastic steps would be necessary to rid the Mexican states of the criminals currently entrenched therein...is this fight truly worth it?
Also, while murder and enslavement of natives in Spanish Mexico was officially condemned by the Catholic Church, that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I'm sure you know about the mission system and how kind it was to the native population :rolleyes:
While there are Mexicans descended from native Americans who fled the U.S. Army, I'm pretty sure the vast majority are descended from Aztecs (or cross-breeding between Aztecs and Spaniards).
BTW, IIRC, the Mexican-American War was actually the first place where Lincoln gained any national attention, due to his vocal opposition to it. Another noteworthy oppoent was Henry Davis Thoreau, who decided to stop paying taxes because he didn't want to help fund what he considered an unjust war. He also spent some quality time in jail for that...and, while saying that we got half of Mexico's land in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago is exaggerating some, I don't think it's exaggerating to say that we got 1/3 of Mexico's land area...keep in mind that, while "a few states" may be technically correct, those "few states" still include pretty much everything south and west of the Lousiana Purchase terriroty except for Texas and a small chunk of New Mexico that was purchased later in the 19th Century for a railroad right-of-way (I believe that's known as the Gasden Purchase, but the name may be wrong). I suppose saying that we gave them $10 million is better than just conquering the land and calling it good, but it does seem to me that that's on par with giving the natives a string of beads for the island that Manhattan now resides on. But...the Mexican-American War is still something we instigated, fought, and humiliated Mexico and certainly didn't do our image any good...and for what? Monroe primarily wanted California (and, therefore, the realization of Manifest Destiny by having a state on the Pacific Coast), and the residents of CA at the time were about ready to follow Texas's lead in any event...had we waited a few more years, we could probably have gotten California without a fight (at least not on the part of the U.S.), and I don't think Mexico cared all that much about the other regions the U.S. got (certainly not to the degree that they cared about Alta California).
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but historical debates always get me geared up :D |
