Writing History

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A Shared Destiny
What If?
USA-The Treasure Within.

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As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I was taking the time to think about President Trump's recent attendance at a Latino conference, where he was addressing the Latino Coalition. As many of my readers will know, there are moments when I am in deep opposition with Mr. Trump, but when there are positives, I think that it is important to reflect on these, this is what democracy is, where there will be agreements and disagreements. Why this particular dialogue was especially important was because of the current rhetoric of hate, that have surrounded the DACA or the DREAMers program, where individuals enter the program who are mainly from the Latino/Hispanic communities. This should not be viewed as surprising because it is forecasted that the Latino population will grow. It is the fastest growing minority population and, "It is estimated that the Latino population will double in size by the year 2050, and will then make up approximately 30% of the population in the United States (Arbona & Jimenez, 2014; Crisp & Nora, 2010; Quezada et al., 2012; Stokes-Brown, 2012)." (Flink, 2017). If there is a forecast for this population to grow, forecasters, analysts, policy makers, or groups working for think tanks must consider how they should, and will integrate segments of the population. The indication for growth suggests that the rhetorics of harm and hate cannot carry on the way they are. Because what are we doing? This is an indirect way to outlaw individuals, who should be viewed as valuable members, assets that are, and will be contributing members to society, and to the economy. So the significance of the speech for the business community, should be viewed as a fresh welcoming. In terms of the DACA/DREAMers program, he mentioned that he was willing to make a deal, but the deal is being halted because Democrats are "no where to be found." I find this thought interesting, because it was Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democratic party who delivered a Marathon speech that lasted about 8 hours on the DACA program. So here we can ask-Where are the Democrats? Isn't it time to make a deal, negotiate, and reach an agreement?

     Thinking through in terms of the historical level, I think that there has been much dis-service that has been done to the Latino, Latina, Hispanic, and Spanish speaking community. The fact that we rarely hear about the silenced history, shows how it has been down played, or regarded as insignificant. But these histories, some harsh, should be considered a shared history, and a paving to imagine a shared future. We cannot erase the past, such as the Colonization, wars, the battles to conquer lands, but we can learn from them. As I have previously written, past histories should serve as mappings, points to decipher what has worked, and what did not. What have we learned from wars, what have we learned from Colonizing populations, eugenics experiments and programs, or slavery? What have we learned? Are we going to re-make history of tragedy, wars, and exploitation? Even if anyone thought to do so, I don't think it could work, because human beings have progressed, they are much more intelligent, and probably would know when this is occurring, and also we have much more protections available to us. But we do see forms creeping up, when we think about laws, or policy that is used to diminish, and give rights to others. We can think about the DACA program or illegal immigration. Some people have been living in America, made their lives, had children, but have remained undocumented, what has stifled the growth of these communities is the fact that the children that were born to these families have also become undocumented, to protect their parents from deportation. So why now, why the importance on Latino populations?

     By writing about this population, it does not mean to say that any other minority, or immigrant group does not deserve attention, because they certainly do. But what I am saying is that the voices of the Latino, Latina, Hispanic, or Spanish Speaking populations have been purposely diminished for a very very long time. But having said this, the specific needs of the population have not gone ignored, particularly in terms of Education.  "George H. W. Bush signed amendments in 1992 to the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 (Galdeano et al., 2012; Perrakis & Hagedorn, 2010) ... This was the first time in history that these specific types of institutions were recognized for their role in educating the Latino population (Galdeano et al., 2012; Perrakis & Hagedorn, 2010)" (Flink, 2017).  Also the formation of the Presidents Advisory Commission for Educational Excellence for Hispanics, that was commissioned to address the critical needs and issues of the Hispanic community. President Obama continued to speak and voice the needs of these populations as well. So here we can also raise a point about Presidents, their administration, and legacies. Should the work of one President be undone by another, when there is a new Presidency? I think that this question should be related to my previous points about history. We should view a presidency also as history that is, and was being made. Why not make it so that when one President takes over the other: Look at what worked in the best interests of the country, and continue to build on these aspects. And where there is work to be done, or points of disagreement, see where there can be improvements and changes. 

     Whilst the discussion still remains open for the DACA / DREAMers program, and the case for immigration cannot be stressed enough. Not only for those who are seeking a pathway to citizenship through the programs, but also to look at how undocumented individuals and their families, who have lived in America for years can also stay. If you think about it carefully, if these individuals are coming in from Mexico, wouldn't they have some rights to stay, particularly as certain territories belonged to them in the first place? So while we think about history, we also have to think about how law's or signed Treaties have contributed to problems, or restrictions that specific populations are facing today. There is much work to be done, the struggles continue,  but I think that President Trump's presence at the Latino Conference was a tiny step in the right direction. 

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on March 8th, 2018.
​Image 1 - Web Link
Reference:
Flink, J. P. (2017). Latinos and Higher Education: A Literature Review. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 1 - 13. ​