THAT is the sad state of affairs our country faces today. A large number of ethnic Latinos, some of them citizens of the United States and others who are "green card" holders, seem bound and determined to let their race or ethnicity overrule their sense of country and the rule of law. While many Latinos think and act otherwise, too many are drawn in by the ties of blood and culture spewed by racially-oriented organizations such as La Raza (The Race,) LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens,) Hermandad Mexicana (Mexican Brotherhood,) Somos Un Pueblo Unido (We Are a United People,) and a number of similar others. Some people, to their everlasting shame, put these attitudes foremost in their lives, even while serving in the Congress of the United States or other public office. These are called "Professional Hispanics." I focus here on Latinos because there simply are no organizations of that ilk representing other nationalities or ethnic or racial groups.

For many decades elsewhere in the western hemisphere, aliens have seen the United States as a more desirable place to live. Nicaraguans or Guatemalans don't sneak into Bolivia or Paraguay, and Ecuadoreans have never pursued a "Honduran Dream" (unless reaching Honduras means they're getting closer on their quest to reach the "American Dream.") For over half a century now, that American Dream and our lackadaisical and forgiving immigration enforcement policy have been acting as a magnet and have drawn millions upon millions who have ventured across our borders or stayed here illegally.

Today, Latinos constitute the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Of itself, that is not the problem: the problem is that too many of them are also dead set in bringing, keeping and fostering their language, traditions and cultural standards with them. Check, for instance, the following website (http://www.easymedialist.com/usa/spanish-language-newspapers.html) and you'll see that there are 175 Spanish language newspapers already in the United States. Spanish language radio stations are also heard practically everywhere in our country, as are major Spanish language TV networks. These are not signs of an immigrant group attempting to acculturate.

Now, sadly, this sense of cohesion and cultural identity is threatening to turn against any candidate for office who doesn't look upon so-called "immigration reform" favorably. Meaning, in essence, they'll vote against anyone who is not in favor of amnesty for those many millions of people illegally in our country.

Large numbers of Americans, both citizens and legal aliens, of Hispanic extraction serve our country in patriotic and positive ways: in the armed forces, in government, industry, education, business, etc. They celebrate the 4th of July and not Cinco de Mayo, for example. They don't flaunt license plates or decals of foreign flags. They speak English. And they vote their politics, not their race. It is now time for voters of any extraction to abandon and reject these racially-oriented demands for special treatment for those illegally in our country. Failure to do so will eventually turn the United States into a larger version of the places the illegal aliens came from.

Gene Guyant
November 27, 2011