By: David Conde
A recent Denver Post article published results of a poll about Latino concerns this election sea- son. Like just about everyone else, the community’s number one preoccupation is the economy that has generated an 8.3 percent inflation rate and 11.4 percent increase in the cost of food this past year.
The poll commissioned by the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), the COLOR Action Fund, Voces Unidas de las Montanas and Voces Unidas Action Fund revealed that half of the respondents “felt their economic situation has worsened.” These appear to be important numbers especially for Republicans seeking to be elected and that in 2018 attracted only 25 percent of the Latino vote. The notion of taking Latino votes away from Democrats given this economic environment is turning the wheels on media advertisement to an elevated state.
Although all of the concerns that would normally affect an election are legitimate, there is a greater issue at the moment that can make a standard response somewhat irrelevant. Our democracy, our right to vote in all 50 states and territories, the right to count on our freedom and the right to be free of discrimination and bigotry is in increasing peril and that needs to be addressed before anything else.
On June 16, 2015 Donald Trump came down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for President with malice in his heart toward the Latino community. His attempt to demonize it by calling its members criminals and rapists was only the beginning of a strategic plan to race-bate and hook a significant segment of the American people into his Neo-fascist cause.
His plot was successful in taking advantage of race-based fears associated with those who might be the future stewards of the country. His utterances on that day spoke to a sense of an increasing demographic and political threat from a Latino community that has been steadily growing for the last 510 years.
There is also somewhat of an awakening of this popu- lation from a stoic existence that has accepted so much abuse in the past. Although Latino stoicism defined as a “person who represses feelings or endures patiently” first cited in 1579 and has been a significant part of its character for centuries, its acceleration of assertiveness with an effective voice is becoming an increasing presence in our national life.
For Latinos and everyone else, the efforts to derail democracy and democratic institutions are the biggest threats of all this election season because without them, everything else matters little. So, the immediate priority is to get Trump and everyone connected with his leadership out of the way so that the country can get back to its founding creed.
In a sense, Latinos must take the time to look closely at a buried mirror that is their heritage and find within it the drive to fulfill their destiny. It is not only a matter of celebrating who they are but also of understanding that this community cannot stand in its own way as it navigates the road to a renewed America.
Polls aside, the urgent political need is to take on and overcome the forces of fascism and authoritarianism. If we lose the war for our democracy we lose the future.
For Latinos more than for any other community, our heritage is closely tied to the future of America. This is the time to fight for that future and build on the vision of an America best expressed in words that describe the American Dream.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
