In this case it was primarily Hispanic High School students cutting classes to march and drive through downtown Phoenix snarling traffic and waving Mexican flags. I have no idea what percentage of these teens represented actual US citizens and how many were from illegal immigrant families but I do know that it was a sight that angered most in my office building. I have to admit that my compassionate side was not coming to the forefront watching this spectacle.

Even though I understand the anger that can be inflamed by legislation (that's since been greatly watered down) designed to criminalize illegal aliens, there's a balance missing in the protests of understanding from the Hispanic people. They need to know the cultural shock the US is facing from the torrent of Mexicans crossing the border needs to be addressed in many ways and not just this mindless nationalism I saw in these teens. My guess is that many of them were out there for no other reason than an excuse to cut class since studies have shown a real lack of knowledge of current affairs and government in youth of all races.

I cherish the right of people to protest in this country and would never believe in taking away the right but it really burns me when the protesters are so short sighted. Our immigration problem today has nothing to do with legality or cultural mixing or racial prejudice. It is only there for one reason - the fact that we share a long and common border with an economically depressed and politically corrupt country. Despite Mexico being rich in natural resources, that corruption, the macho Hispanic culture, and, in my mind the near total control of the populace by the Catholic Church, has kept Mexico from being a productive neighbor.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the huge turnouts we've seen recently throughout the United States of Hispanics protesting immigration policy were somehow funnelled into the streets of Mexico City where they could take on the corrupt leaders and their police state and force a debate on the failures of Mexico and the culture that allows the problems to go on. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. It's much easier to play this ridiculous game of border crossings and coyotes, subpar wages, and cultural clashes than to stand up to the immense task of removing the core problem and facing up to your own culture's misgivings. US citizens aren't pure in this struggle either. We aren't willing to bite the bullet and pay decent wages for the menial tasks the immigrants are taking on but that issue wouldn't even be on the table if Mexicans created a country they could be proud of that provided opportunities on its own.

So please excuse me if I get a bit perturbed at the site of teenagers waving Mexican flags without also holding up signs thanking America for providing them with the freedom to protest. This entitlement generation extends through all races and cultures and it needs to end. Protest without careful thought and a compassion towards the audience is nothing but provocative whining. This is going to backfire on the organizers of these events. Even the most liberal of my coworkers were taken aback by the spectacle and were visibly angered. I don't want to see a Mexican-American War II but more of what I witnessed today could be a catalyst for the more militant among us to consider it. Nobody would win that one.

Art