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Crash-Course in Politics
"I've learned to use serious arguments, not make fun of people who don't share my opinions. "
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to this Commentary!
By Elena Alvarez Huerta
Eighteen year old Elena Alvarez Huerta was born in LA, but has lived in Tijuana all her life. This week, she took her first plane trip to New York, to cover the Republican National Convention for Youth Radio. She brings us these reflections on her crash course in U.S. electoral politics.
Technically, I'm a United States citizen, but I consider myself Mexican. So I almost always feel like a visitor when I come to the U.S. And I've never felt more out of place, than during my trip to the Republican National Convention.
Looking down from the airplane, the street lights of New York criss-cross like a neat checkerboard, and I can just picture all these people marching off to the Convention with their briefcases and black suits. But then I land in the middle of a massive anti-war protest-the complete opposite of what I imagine from my view on the plane.
RADICAL CHEERLEADERS (on tape)
Okay ready? Here we go. If you don't know you should be told. People here are getting bold! We are here to scream and shout, tell you what it's all about. Sound off, one two, sound off, three four, break it on, one two, three four, No War!
ELENA
That's the Radical Cheerleaders, and their cheers aren't the only thing that's radical about them. These people make a scene, not only for the ears, but also for the eyes, wherever they go. It's really hard NOT to notice the cheerleaders in the middle of a crowd, with their hot pink pompons and pink and black mini-skirts-even on the guys!
I've never been to a real protest before. In Tijuana, we have marches, but they're mostly silent processions of people carrying signs saying things like "alto al la violencia." At the march in Manhattan, there's a huge banner hanging from an apartment building saying, "My bush would make a better President." That's really clever, and it makes me laugh. But I don't think they should use sexual references to make a political point. In my family, I've learned to use serious arguments, not make fun of people who don't share my opinions.
Not only do I hit the protests of the RNC; I also have the opportunity to go inside Madison Square Garden. It feels like some sort of festivity. People are wearing jester hats and colored wigs, almost like costumes, with flashing pins. I thought it would be extremely formal, but these Republicans are wearing elephants on their heads.
I just stand there through the pledge of allegiance. I've been in Tijuana since primary school, so I don't know the words. Then a woman comes to the podium to sing the national anthem. They say she's lived through something like 60 operations after a car accident, and stands on two prosthetic legs.
It's bizarre: I came to the RNC thinking I'd learn so much about the U.S. political process, and I can't figure out how this woman's medical history is relevant to the purpose of the convention. Pretty soon after the anthem, a priest takes to the stage, talking about Bush as a savior.
PRIEST (on tape)
Thank you tonight, Lord, for President and Mrs. Bush. Thank you for the fact that our President looks to you for wisdom everyday. Thank you for giving him that wisdom and guiding his steps. May you continually guide him to the center of your will… In Jesus's name we pray.
ELENA
All these references to the lord are a little confusing for me. And the thing is, I'm a religious person. I mean, my faith is a big reason why I feel more at home in Mexico than in the United States. My cousins in LA never even want to talk about God, but in Tijuana, no one looks at me funny cuando me persino, (or when I cross myself - translation necessary?) passing a church. But when it comes to politics, I think it's a bit dangerous to say the President is ruling in the name of God, or that God is blessing everything he does. Since this is a democracy, the people are the ones who guide their representatives, not God, right?
At the end of the convention, I'll get back to my life in Tijuana. And even though I've always identified as Mexican, my situation is getting more complicated. I'm not just technically American. Now I have a job in California, at a KFC. So I'm paying U.S. taxes for the first time. And because of my citizenship, I can only vote in the United States-at least right now.
But even after my week at the RNC, I'll be honest, I respect Democrats' and Republicans' points of view, but it seems like they spend more energy throwing dirt at each other than establishing what they could do to better the country. Being here does convince me to vote in the United States, because I can't pretend to be an outsider forever. But, when I think about it, it still FEELS more important for me to vote in Mexico. Even after my moment at the center of United States politics, among protestors in the streets, and conservatives on the convention floor, Mexico is the only place I really know.
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