This weekend many people will be flooding their livers with alcohol, shortening their life spans, to celebrate the little holiday known as Cinco De Mayo.
Even though some in the United States make a big deal about this minor, arguably insignificant military victory, it is actually considered a somber day in the country where the events actually happened. It seems in the United States of America- a land that has no claim to the Battle of Puebla- people make a bigger deal out of the day than it deserves.
I really don't care. If you're Mexican and you want an excuse to party, go ahead. Just don't get behind the wheel and jeopardize my family.
And you know what you also shouldn't do? Bitch about the fact that the President of the United States isn't celebrating either.
Under the past two administrations, there has been an official celebration of Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo holiday at the White House, but that tradition has come to an end under the current “America First” administration of President Donald Trump.
The Hill reported that the 16-year-old tradition will instead be a much smaller affair held somewhere other than the White House and will feature Vice President Mike Pence as the host. (via Conservative Tribune)
Oh, the horror! President Trump does not want to celebrate a holiday that has nothing to do with American history! I guess the many, many other holidays that are far more important to the U.S. take priority -for the country's leader.
Of course, Hispanic activists were quick to turn this into a thing.
“The decision of the White House to renounce the celebration of Cinco de Mayo is another slap for many Mexican Americans and Latinos,” complained Felix Sanchez, co-founder and president of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. “Instead of embracing our nation’s multicultural heritage, we are deepening divisions, not looking for common ground.”
I think there's already enough common ground, Sanchez. And since when has a Mexican holiday meant anything to other groups of Latinos? Why should someone of Puerto Rican or Costa Rican descent care about the 1862 Battle of Puebla? Most Hispanic-Americans are very proud of their personal heritage, not somebody else’s.
But you might be saying, "This holiday is about honoring and remember the contributions of Mexican-Americans." That's a bit of a stretch, considering the origin of this day. But V.P. Pence acknowledged the day and the administration has shown consideration and respect to Americans of Hispanic descent.
Economically, culturally, in our churches, towns & cities across our country, Mexican-Americans & Hispanic-Americans are making a difference pic.twitter.com/BeDktyKqlJ
— Vice President Pence (@VP) May 4, 2017
But yeah, this administration hates Latinos. They hate them so much, they invite Hispanic leaders to come to Washington and discuss ways of strengthening their role in the country.
Joined @SecretaryAcosta to host Hispanic leaders at the @WhiteHouse to strengthen our relationships & discuss ways to ensure prosperity. pic.twitter.com/5iEbFPFapj
— Vice President Pence (@VP) May 4, 2017
But there is something that Mr. Sanchez said while slamming our president that I wanted to explore. He claimed that just because Trump wasn't bending over backward to pander to Mexicans, he was violating our nation’s "multicultural heritage."
What is multiculturalism?
As a New Yorker, with parents of diverse lineage, I have a great love for different cultures. This is especially true of the cultures of my family. I have Italian, French, English, and Cherokee in my family tree. Growing up I was friends with Jewish kids, Muslims kids, Hispanic, black, and Asian kids.
I learned about the differences in our families, beliefs, and culture. While we all had plenty in common, I learned to celebrate what made my friends special. And I was better for it.
Today it seems that the left's definition of multiculturalism is the eradication of traditional American culture in favor of something else. For Hispanic activists, it’s the eradication of the Anglo roots of America in favor of the Spanish roots of Mexico and other places.
Now, this is very important, please pay attention: nobody can make a claim on culture. It is an ever-evolving substance. A nation's cultural identity is shaped through many long generations, as different groups contribute to and affect the development of a nation.
Not a single country on the planet has a culture independent from the rest of the world. They've been shaped by many other nations and transformative events. That's why a thing like "cultural appropriation" is total and utter bullshit. You cannot appropriate something that is ever-changing and fluid.
What you think is your culture is most likely comprised of many influences from a wide variety of sources- across centuries of human development. Everything from wars to religion to the weather has had an effect on culture. So can anyone really "appropriate" something so mercurial?
Culture belongs to everybody; it's the public domain of humanity.
In the same way, we can't honestly say that "American" culture is somehow isolated from Mexico and other countries. So much of what we consider American, from our food to our music to our clothing, has been shaped by influences from around the world. In fact, America is unique compared to most countries, since we've benefited from many people immigrating throughout our history, contributing to our cultural development.
However, in 2017, we can safely say that the U.S. has a distinct culture when compared to other countries. It may have its sources in diverse places, but America has its own identity.
When people like Mr. Sanchez criticize President Trump over not acknowledging Cinco De Mayo, it has little to do with multiculturalism, or the idea that learning and embracing other cultures is a good thing. It has more to do with Sanchez's own political agenda.
There is a very obvious bias among liberal groups against white Americans. The white, Christian, conservative (and straight) male is especially hated. This illogical and hypocritical stance is used as fuel for such movements as third wave feminism, Black Lives Matter, and other social justice initiatives.
Why is this so? Is it because white people, especially men, are inherently evil? Can a country that has spearheaded Civil Rights and worked to end discrimination towards minorities, women, and homosexuals really be ruled by an evil white patriarchy?
Much of the hate cast at white Americans is rooted in the fact that they are the majority race and much of American history has been shaped by white people. That's neither a pro or con, that's just the facts. So for progressive groups to justify their existence, they need to create a boogeyman. Who better to cast as the villain than the largest group in society?
While feminists spread man-hating propaganda, and Black Lives Matter turn young black youths against cops, many liberal, pro-Mexican activists want to float the idea that America needs to be more "multicultural." They want us to think that not embracing the history and culture of an entirely different country is racist or hateful towards Hispanic-Americans.
But their real goal, by and large, is to denigrate America's own history and culture. They'd like nothing more than to erase everything America's come to represent and replace it with something else.
If all we focus on are the crimes committed by early American settlers, the evils that were done by white men, then it becomes very easy to convince people that American culture isn't worth preserving. Embracing the ethnicity of Mexico, Latin America, even Middle Eastern countries would be a better alternative than continuing the glorification of the genocidal forefathers of white supremacist America.
What they don't say is that Mexico is hardly a paradise. And every nation has some serious skeletons in their closets (some far more recent that the United States). And while they are railing against America's diverse history and cultural development, they are ignorant of the evils committed by these other groups- evils perpetuated by ideas and beliefs couched as culture.
Just look how well Europe is doing thanks to its recent embrace of "multiculturalism." Pretending that welcoming a huge group of people into their countries would be a good thing, EU nations allowed millions of Middle Eastern refugees into their borders. What has been the result? Numerous terrorist attacks (many by ISIS itself), rampant cases of rape and violence against women, and citizens feeling like they are no longer in their own country.
This terrible crisis was floated as good for Europe, under the guise of multiculturalism.
In the United States, the terrible situation of illegal immigration has been maintained for much the same reason. Innocent families who want a better life are subject to inhumane conditions to sneak across the border. They empower human traffickers and drug cartels, who turn them into veritable slaves. Drugs and violence are imported into America. Criminal aliens rape and kill and find safety in "sanctuary cities." All because liberals want us to believe it's the right thing to do.
This isn't multiculturalism. This is the destruction of a country.
I am the last person to say the solution is to close our doors and refuse to welcome people into America. That's insane and far from the goal of this discussion. America is a tapestry of cultural influences from around the world, but it has been shaped and refined into its own.
Liberals and activists want to erase what we've worked and fought for so hard to create. They want to plunder the unique identity of the United States in favor of another country's. They want to rewrite our history into one that favors themselves and grants them a sense of superiority.
That, above anything else, is truly un-American.
