"600 words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Language Barriers

"600 words by Esther J. Cepeda"

In the grand scheme of all the inappropriate remarks made at commencement speeches across the U.S. during graduation season – from snarky high-school clique announcements to college ceremony swearing – this one doesn't even come close, yet laws are being crafted as you read this to make certain this type never happens again.

Two co-valedictorian in Louisiana used one sentence of non-English language during their graduation speeches.

No, they didn't quote a long-dead philosopher in Latin, as many do. They didn't make offensive, disparaging remarks intended to disrespect their fellow students and faculty without their being able to understand them. It wasn't "'Ich bin ein Berliner'" though their intent was Kennedy-esque in aiming to bestow honor by speaking the native tongue of a special audience.

The young women, Cindy and Hue Vo, residents of Houma, La., dedicated one sentence to their Vietnamese immigrant family members which roughly translated into "always be your own person."

Terrebone Parish School District administrators were so distraught at this un-American display of a foreign tongue during their ceremony that according to the Associated Press which reported the story last weekend, officials there are forming a committee comprised of teachers to set school ceremony standards for the school board to adopt. Standards requiring English-only, and even other Bill of Rights benders such as requiring prayers during a ceremony. Not allowing, requiring.

Rickie Pitre, a board member, was quoted as saying, "I don't like them addressing in a foreign language. They should be in English." Man – that is cold!

Anyone who's been reading me for any length of time knows I'm all in favor of English-only in 99.9% of situations – English immersion is the number one way for immigrants to learn the language and culture of our country and translated everything is harming, not helping people acculturate – but this is ridiculous!

How trembling and frightened of anyone who's not exactly like them must a community be to risk becoming a national laughing-stock in the name of ensuring that no student ever utters a single non-English word of love or gratitude to a family member as a special acknowledgement?

The girls were not trying to make political statements, not trying to push a social agenda, not trying to disrespect the cultural or linguistic norms of their fellow students and teachers by cutting them out of their shared graduating experience. They just wanted to tell their families "I love you" in a special way.

"Out of the whole speech, it's one sentence dedicated to them to give thanks," Cindy Vo told an Associated Press reporter, "mine was personal and general for the entire Vietnamese community and something I wanted to share with graduates."

Her cousin Hue Vo remarked that she wanted to express gratitude to her parents for enduring the hardships of moving from Vietnam to the U.S. That would be the land of the free, last time I checked.

Being a buttoned-down, conservative-type, I'm sure Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, that state's first Indian governor, never wrestled with this sort of silliness. Rebuked among some of the Indian community for not being "Indian enough," I'm sure he always sticks to the English, but I'd bet even he's appalled.

If, sadly, we've become an America who no longer wants the world's tired or weary, and heck, let's just throw "uneducated" on that pile, preferring to only welcome the law-abiding, intelligent, and potentially profitable – which the Vo family certainly is – then for Pete's sake let's open our arms and stop harassing them at every turn.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

Who loves ya, baby? McCain, Obama court Latinos

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

Oh look! It’s a slow news day and the topic of immigration has come up, so the mainstream media all of a sudden actually cares what the presidential candidates think about Latinos.

And how could they resist? John McCain and Barack Obama both showed up to a sleepy Saturday gathering of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in full woo mode – all smiles and happy Hispanic messages.

The two candidates – who, of the 20 votes they both cast out of 30 immigration-related votes since May 17, 2006, voted identically 11 times – turned on the charm with such pithy quotes as this one from John McCain who became a target in the Republican party for championing immigration law reform but had recently taken a harsher tone:

"It'll be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow. We must also understand that there are 12 million people who are here, and they're here illegally and they are God's children," Bloomberg quoted McCain as saying.

Reuters quoted Obama’s gushing thusly: "I'm hoping that somewhere out in this audience sits the person who will become the first Latino [presidential] nominee of a major party." Gee, I wonder what Hispanic pre-candidate and former Clinton devotee Bill Richardson thought of that one!

So we’re alternately the chosen ones and next in line for the White House after the black guy, huh? Gee, thanks a lot fellas.

And why the fuss?

Because this utopian "Hispanic vote," estimated to be approximately 9 percent of the national electorate and always referred to as the "fastest growing minority group in the U.S., is up for grabs now that Hillary is out of the picture.

Take their not-completely-opposite voting records on immigration matters and weight their actions versus their words: by all accounts, even from those inside the campaign, Obama has had a blind spot for Latinos throughout the race.

Contrast that with John McCain who was the only Republican candidate who agreed to Univision’s Spanish-language presidential debates last August (it was subsequently cancelled due to lack of Republican interest). Oh, and McCain is touring Mexico and South America early next month, presumably on a listening tour.

Barack must not be compelled to the poor south, though he’ll be gallivanting through more affluent Europe and the Middle East next month well. Still, I’ll give him brownie points, pun intended, for actually trying to give Latin America attention even though his viewpoints on our neighbors to the south rarely make it on the air or into print.

I don’t fall for sugary political pandering so, frankly, I don’t care who makes the better pre-election overture but this is just the beginning. There’ll be plenty of immigration finger-pointing – probably punctuated by some ethnic stereotype mishap – and wobbly, unsubstantive Spanish-language pleas in targeted media.

I suggest both McCain and Obama proceed with caution. If either of them go overboard – I can just hear promises of "a taco in every pot!" – they’ll stand a chance of turning off a ton of U.S.-born Latinos who are much likelier to vote come November than the May Day marchers you see on the TV everyday.

Here’s a thought, John and Barry: not all of our votes hinge on your stance on immigration, so when you see me, think of something compelling to say other than something along the lines of: "Gosh I love immigrants! My ancestors were immigrants, y’know?!"

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

See me in the funny papers

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

She came around! I knew she would!

I'm talking about Janis Day, the middle-aged mom on the comic strip Arlo and Janis, a 23-year-old nationally-syndicated comic strip which appears in Chicago's Sun-Times. She'd been struggling, for the last two weeks, with conflicting feelings about her son Gene's co-workers at his new summer job.

In last week's strips, Gene, home from college, is working outdoors with a presumably-all-Mexican lawn care crew. When he casually mentions to mom, and his dad Arlo, that his co-workers call him "gringa" – the Spanish, female form of an arguably derogative term for "whitey" – she got all upset.

Gene assured both Arlo and Janis that his crew-mates were just busting his chops, shared how much he was learning about the Spanish language and their culture, and even wished he had taken Spanish classes is school.

Last Friday, though, Janice was having protective mom thoughts that flirted with the kind of protectionist, almost racist stereotyping that's making things hard on all Latinos these days. She fretted: "I wonder what trash those awful men are talking to Gene today!!" even as they were teaching Gene the value of honoring your mother.

  Woah! I kinda freaked because I've been loving A&J for well over a decade and wasn't sure where creator Jimmy Johnson was going: are those scary Mexicans actually going to corrupt young Gene? Will Janis be proven right to be concerned or will there be a painfully beautiful slice-of-life learning moment for everyone reading? Why even bring such a controversial topic to a fun, 30-second diversion to begin with?

And that's really what I was excited about: Arlo, Janis, and Gene – just as white as 99.9 percent of all other mainstream comic strip characters – interacting with real, live, Mexicans. Stereotypical yard hands, sure, but give Jimmy Johnson credit – this is a huge act of bravery.

Don't get me wrong, I love Lalo Alcaraz, the Hispanic LA Times cartoonist who pens La Cucaracha – also nationally syndicated and, coincidentally appears only a few panels above A&J on the third comics page of the Sun-Times – but his audience is limited.

Some people don't read it because they think "I'm not Latino, it's not for me." Some Hispanics think he's too this or that and also don't tune in for Lalo's brilliant and funny social commentary.

But A&J is read by millions of people of all stripes, colors, and walks of life. This is big!

After Friday, I was on the edge of my seat but the story line was dropped Saturday through Tuesday. My attempts to contact JJ were fruitless, and I wondered if he'd gotten barraged with hate mail for bringing the contentious immigration debate into what's usually a light family 'toon and decided to drop the whole thing.

Unlikely. "Most of them are written so far in advance it's really hard pull back in a day or two, though the newspaper could decide not to run it, I suppose," Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, and Brenda Starr cartoonist, told me yesterday as I struggled with the lack of new developments in the scary Mexican plot. Mary – no stranger to making waves with the dialogue of her characters (don't get her started on the use of the term "threesome!") – told me she doubted any cartoonist would be influenced either by backlash, hate mail, or even partial censoring.

The chances the writer would change it are very, very small. For a long time, people couldn’t give feedback and that was one of the beauties – it’s not like being a columnist where they can kick you in public – there was anonymity. It’s not like now where feedback is everything to everybody," Mary said. "And there is this notion, that I think is wrong-headed, that comic strips aren’t supposed to offend, this idea that comic strips are for kids – I don’t buy that. There was a time for kids but that’s not who reads the papers. I think readers could be well served with some edginess."

Edginess is good and it turns out I needn’t have fretted so. Today Janis – still crabby in the first panel where she "worries" about the heat Gene’s working in – takes lemonade to his job site and learns a little something about how Mexican lawn care workers respond to kindness.

I like to think Arlo and Janis’ readers will learn a little something, too.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

The cracked ceiling: Hillary's last bow

"Pregunta del Dia" by Esther J. Cepeda

"Pregunta del Dia" translates from Spanish into "Question of the Day" and today’s popped into my mind Saturday as I happened to be still in DC, just a few blocks from the National Building, when Hillary bowed out.

Q. What have we learned from Hillary Clinton's historic quest for the Democratic nomination to run for President of the United States of America?

A. Clinton spoke a beautiful metaphor: "Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it."

This time.

I didn't like Clinton any more or less than I liked Obama, so I wasn't one of her 18 million cracks. Yet thanks to Senator Clinton, and without any effort on my part, I now live in a world where the idea of a female president seems just as attainable as that of a black president. Ok, maybe not a female Commander in Chief with a slightly abrasive personality and an ex-impeached president tagging along for the ride, but still.

Just like Obama, Hillary made it seem all things were possible and in fact, in her own way, she made it so. Her true legacy will not be in how far she went but in how much farther women across this country believe they can go.

I saw the hollow-eyed women on their way to grieve for their dethroned queen-to-be, Saturday morning as I made my way to a meeting. Their slumped shoulders said it all.

Only a few hours later, Hillary tried to brighten their spirits; "To those of you who are disappointed that we couldn't go all the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if in falling short of my goal I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours."

I'm not disappointed – there's nothing but upside here because I've no doubt she's executed the most noble sort of leadership; she's cleared the path and paved the way for whoever does become the first female president, whenever (not if ever) it happens. Not the moment of glory Clinton had hoped for but a tremendous feat of courage in the face of adversity in its own right.

"Discouraged?" No reason to be. No matter what, history has been made, barriers broken and I'm sure Clinton knows full well that where there is an end there is also a beginning.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

Eight national views on Chicago's Olympic Hopes

"Pregunta del Dia" by Esther J. Cepeda

(WASHINGTON, DC) "Pregunta del Dia" translates from Spanish into "Question of the Day" and I posed today’s question to my fellow Columbia University American Assembly Next Generation Project Fellows as we took a cocktail break during our three-day bull session on U.S. Global Policy & the Future of International Institutions in Washington, DC.

Q. Now that Chicago has been named one of four finalists – Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro round out the list – to bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, what do you think about Chicago city residents who might be skeptical that an Olympics will be no more than a big hassle whose funds and energy could go to other projects?

A. I asked several of the amazing brainiacs I was with, wondering if any of them would even care. In this ultra-elite group?– of course they cared! Here's what the country's best, brightest, and really young leaders had to say:

· "How much infrastructure is there – that would be my first question – but it would be great for global policy. The violence there? – it's horrible, but I don't think it'll have any effect on the bid." – Julie Schumacher Cohen, Legislative Coordinator, Churches for Middle East Peace, Washington, DC

· "Would da co-ach light da torch? It seems to me Chicago is always the second city for some reason, but it's a world-class city and this could be the opportunity to showcase that. Frankly, Atlanta is half the city that Chicago is and this is a tremendous opportunity for the city to show it's on the first tier with New York and L.A." – Tim Graczewski, Director, Strategic Alliances & Corporate Development, Intuti, Mountain View, CA

· "It's the perfect way to showcase the city! Largely, Chicago's self-esteem problem is the reflection of our own feeling of being the 'second city.' Of course, getting chosen is the number one big challenge now, then if we're chosen, getting the players to come through with funding, there'll be construction issues, opportunity for strike issues – it's phenomenal. We don't want to be like Greece, hopefully." – John M. Syrek, Citizenship Program Director, McCormick Foundation, Chicago, IL

· "It could be a lot of fun, I lived in LA during the last Olympics and it was fun and generally a good thing. If you do it right, it could show people that they don't have to drive anywhere for two weeks, though O'Hare could be an impediment. Will there be a 'Barack Obama Stadium?'" – Andrew Gettelmen, Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, Boulder, CO

· "I'm from Vancouver, Canada and all I can remember from the Olympics was what a pain in the ass it was when things were shut down for construction."- Michael Levi, Fellow for Science and Technology, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY

· "People in the American press have been criticizing China saying its build-out disenfranchised the community because they were focused on revenue rather than rights. The question is, can we take this golden opportunity to put that rhetoric to practice and get capital and development to play a role in bringing communities to life?" – Mohammad Hanif Jhaveri, Chief Executive Officer, Hera Capital, Dubai via Texas

· "An Olympics puts the city that achieves that stature on the global platform. Chicago is ideally poised – not just from an infrastructure and cultural diversity aspect – to be a positive influence on global policy after that. A by-product of the Olympics could be a theoretical reduction in violent crime. The Olympics could mobilize the citizenry to be involved and have a tremendously positive impact. And it is a privilege – you are representing all the cultures in your city. Tell all your people to empower the youth with that." - De'Edra S. Williams, CRM Lead Consultant, Wipro Technologies, Dallas, TX

· "Chicago is a great U.S. representative! I ran the Chicago Marathon and it represented the world. All the neighborhoods had not only the American spirit, but also were so multicultural. Many American cities have that, but Chicago has that distinctiveness, that sense of diversity that comes into play." - Brett House, Policy Adviser & Senior Macroeconomist, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY

Note: the International Olympics Committee members will pick the 2016 host on Oct. 2, 2009.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

History made: Obama on his way

“Pregunta del Dia” by Esther J. Cepeda

“Pregunta del Dia” translates from Spanish into Question of the Day and today’s started pouring in late last night from all corners of the country and went a little something like this:

Q. Didja hear, didja hear?!

A. Yes, I heard. The whole world heard.

Barack Obama has become the media's presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, soon-to-be-slated as challenger to John McCain for the 2009 white house.

Correction: "White House." Even this color-blind, brown-eyed girl isn't blind to the fact that no person of color has ever before taken up residence in that most revered palace of presidential power. The most powerful office in the world, some might say.

 

I haven't been passionate about either him or Hilary but the excitement is starting to build.

If – and that may not be as big an if as some might make it out to be – if Barry makes it, and even if he turned out to be a less-than-spectacular Head of State, two things:

1)      It'll be over: the long-standing question about whether America is ready for a black man as President will have been answered. The doubts about whether a minority is "electable" will seem so…2007 passe. Barry's rising tide will lift all our boats, and every person who is not in any way extremely light-skinned, with light hair and light eyes and might be – if your surveyed a small crowd – identified as a minority, will feel they now have a chance at anything they can dream up. If Obama makes it – all things will be possible for anyone who might have usually been considered somehow different.

2)      The world will change. Without question. If Barack Obama makes it to the White House just think for a moment what life will be like for every kid who today is 6 years old or younger – or yet to be born. These kids – our future, here and all over this world – will never remember a time before a black man in the highest office of our government was a reality. "Barrier breaking," "History Making," "Trail-blazing," – nah, to these kids the previous "impossibilities" of my short life-time will simply be old hat. As ordinary as peanut butter and jelly.

Aaaaahh, life as it should be.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Small potatoes, big dust-up

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

If I said po-tay-toe, you might say po-tah-toe, or you might say "Irish potato famine." You might say "baked, covered in butter, sour cream and chives, sitting next to a filet mignon" or even say "McDonald's," if you're the sort who'd know they're the single largest purchaser of potatoes in the U.S.

Me, I say South American comfort food – not what immediately springs to mind, I know. I'd never presumed to pinpoint the potato's exact origins but Peru and Chile are doing it for me, trying to lay claim to birth-place bragging rights and J.R. Simplot is no longer around for comment, may he rest in peace. Let me back up.

Picture this: Andean highlands, brightly wrapped, broad-faced peasants cultivating tasty tubers while sikus (pan pipes) play gently in the background. Those are the origins of the potato.

Sunday's New York Times ran a story about Peru and Chile being at odds about who can claim the spud as their's first at this most delicate time: the U.N.-decreed International Year of the Potato. According to the International Potato Center (I didn't know either, but don’t miss clicking on the potato song!), annual production approaches 300 million tons and more than one-third of the global potato output now comes from developing countries.

To top it off, the site says potatoes are the "third most important food crop in the world" because its "a major carbohydrate in the diet of hundreds of millions of people in the developing countries.

That alone is a biggie right now as food manufacturers look to the potato as the price of corn skyrockets – Peru has already started putting potato bread in schools. Which brings me to Mr. J.R. Simplot who passed away May 25 of this year – a mere five days before Peru's National Potato Day – at the ripe old age of 99.

Though I doubt he can be credited with the development of the delicious potato-flour bun which graced the long-defunct Arch Deluxe, Simplot – a Dubuque, Iowa native who died a billionaire – will be remembered as the man who perfected the method of freezing the French-cut potato, forever making them a staple of the fast food industry. The man loved potatoes like no other, and oh how I wish he were around to weigh in on this tater tiff.

My dearest dad – not a potato baron but raised in the more bucolic parts of Ecuador – remembers eating potatoes of many shapes and sizes nearly every day because corn and wheat products were out of his family's financial means. "Every once in a while we'd have some fresh cheese with them," he told me over a rare potato-sparse Sunday-night dinner.

And that's my fondest memory of the humble potato – freshly fished out of a kettle of boiling water, served steaming hot along with a chunk of white cheese and a salt shaker. On special occasions they'd be mashed, colored with the oil of the Achiote seed, studded with pieces of brick or viajero cheese and fried into potato pancakes: my southern comfort food.

But rather than being the beacon of peace and indulgence Simplot considered the spud to be, the tubers are a sore spot. The Associated Press reported that Andres Contreras, a researcher at Chile's Austral University in Valdivia, said archaeological studies have found the first evidence of human potato chomping dating back 14,000 years in southern Chile, long before evidence emerges of spud consumption in Peru. The AP also quoted Juan Risi, the head of Peru's National Institute for Agricultural Innovation, calling Chile's potatoes mere "grandchildren" of Peru's tubers.

A shame that things had to get so ugly – it's not like Chile and Peru don't have more pressing social issues to address – but it is a matter of national pride. Luckily, neither I nor Simplot, "America's Great Potato Baron," have to pick sides. He will, by now, have learned all the potato secrets of the universe he craved during his earthly life, and I will satisfy myself with the knowledge that national borders won't keep me from being proud of my potato ancestry.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

The name of the game: convention

“Pregunta del Dia” by Esther J. Cepeda

“Pregunta del Dia” translates from Spanish into Question of the Day and today’s is from Dan, a Burbank, IL reader who asks:

Q. I get annoyed when some Democrats try to assure us that a Presidential candidate will be chosen before the convention.  Is it such an old-fashioned, obsolete idea to have a national convention to actually choose a candidate?

A. Dan, it was an outdated idea – up until a few weeks ago. Until then it was a foregone conclusion that either Hillary or Barack would be going into the convention the sure nominee much like John McCain has nothing to sweat at the Republican convention. But this is a presidential race has thrown out the rule-book.

On the one hand you have a Republican party, whose coffers are overflowing, floating a candidate that isn't generating a lot of enthusiasm – which is why the party's coffers are overflowing. On the other hand you have a Democrat party whose two remaining candidates have so captivated the hearts and minds of potential voters that they've raised unprecedented amounts of money – leaving the coffers of the DNC bare.

In years past the nominating process involved media spectacles of the races leading up to the Iowa primaries, then they'd report on the those results as if they sealed the deal for both the winner and the loser. And everyone carried on as if that were true. Most just assumed, "Ok, the TV and newspapers say so and so is done, so he must be," and didn't pay attention until the following winter when whatever new guy was sworn in.

Any junior psychologist can identify this as a self-fulfilling propehecy – "a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true," according to Wikipedia. Doesn't leave much room for the aim of a party's convention to nominate and confirm the president and vice-president candidates, does it?

What we are witnessing today is a mass of people sending a very clear message not only to "the powers that be" but to the rest of the country: "We will not allow the same conventional wisdom that has brought us to economic hardship, to war, to violence in our streets decide who our next leader is going to be."

People want to believe they can make a difference in what happens in their world and are doing so by not eating the political pablum they've been force-fed all their lives: "There, there darling, of course your vote counts!"

As a result, it is June 2, and Hilary and Barack – and their legions of supporters – continue fighting for the nomination with everything they've got, ignoring the customary quitting when everyone says you "should" of the past, and turning the process of picking a presidential candidate on its head. That's good for democracy and its good for us as voters. It's especially good for everyone of us who looks into the eyes of kids they mentor or raise and say with 100% conviction: "Never give up."

I predict the epic battle will land on the very doorstep of the convention and the DNC will have miracles to perform in doing its other convention objective: adopt a comprehensive party platform and unify the party for a general election win. We'll be back to having the conventions that actually matter and mean something to regular folks who aren't media pundits. Isn't that great?!

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Latin America: forever on the back burner

"600 words" by Esther J. Cepeda

It was going to happen: finally, a robust discussion about the United States’ foreign policy toward Latin America because the "rock star" was going to bring it up. Yep, it was to be an important day in turning the nation’s attention south until someone had to stick her big fat foot - conservative pump and all - into her mouth. Again.

Capitalizing on the occasion of Cuban Independence Day week, Barack Obama seized his moment in the Miami sun Friday to deliver a speech titled "Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas." He spoke of the promise of hard-working immigrants, of "taking pride in a vibrant and diverse democracy," of challenging the visions of leftist dictator-wannabes by actually acknowledging those south of the border as more than just U.S.-bound welfare cases or drug dealers.

‘Bama ripped George Bush’s record of completely neglecting Latin America and threw McCain under the same bus: "It is time for us to recognize that the future security and prosperity of the United States is fundamentally tied to the future of the Americas. If we don’t turn away from the policies of the past, then we won’t be able to shape the future.  The Bush Administration has offered no clear vision for this future, and neither has John McCain."

He covered dealing with FARC rebels in Colombia, bringing libertad to Cuba, finding a way to keep China from buying up everything south of the equator and keeping Iran from propping up Venezuela’s instability with its oil money.

Did you hear about it? No, because on the same day Hillary Clinton bumbled into offending supporters and detractors alike by saying something stupid that had a weird racial tinge. Again.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Hillary brought up Bobby Kennedy’s 1968 assassination simultaneously recalling the sore subjects of Barack Obama’s peril on the campaign trail and the frail health of Senator Edward Kennedy who, let’s not forget, completely punked her out by throwing the full weight of his political machine behind Barack several months ago.

The media, of course, were off to the races. McCain’s flack’s silly exhortation that "Senator Obama’s reckless judgement, and his pandering on trade will set back relations between the U.S. and Latin America for decades!" took a back seat to the latest Hillary kerfuffle.

Will anything short of Colombia taking Jessica Simpson hostage while symbolically dumping several plane-loads of pure cocaine into Boston Harbor get the United States to

pay attention to the almost thirty countries who could be our greatest allies, trade partners, and friends?

Frankly I don’t much care what other stupidity any of the candidates manage to croak out in the next few months. I, like so many others, have disconnected from it all but they’re missing opportunities to engage voters in open, constructive national dialogues.

Instead of talking about, much less to, our neighbors to the south – though I guess we will when Rio steals that 2016 Olympics bid from Chicago – our relationship with Latin America remains nonexistent, and it ain’t because they’re boring!

Argentina just elected its first female president who happened to be married to the immediate outgoing president, Ecuador’s leftist president studied at the University of Illinois, the president of Bolivia used to be a coca plant farmer. There are a million non-presidential but interesting telenovela-style points of interest but they seem to be forever off the American map of "things that matter."

News flash: our "American" way of life squarely rests on the prosperity and health of everyone of our continental neighbors. It matters.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Zeh fuwah guwah

by Esther J. Cepeda

"Pregunta del Dia" translates to Question of the Day and today’s comes from R.L., a Stickney reader who, in response to another recent column, asked:

Q. "Are you a vegetarian?"

A. Me a veggie? It only takes two words to make this girl happy: cheesey-beef.

But even if that weren’t the case, and I believed firmly in the right of animals to take precedence over humans in the food chain, I wouldn’t try to ram my ideology down your throat. Which brings me to Chicago’s now defunct ban on foie gras in the city.

For the uninitiated, foie gras is the fattened liver of goose or duck, otherwise known as what Julia Child talked me through the preparation of in her distinctive voice on so many lonely childhood Saturday afternoons. Its sale had been banned in Chicago in 2006 and was quietly rescinded last Wednesday.

I got no beef with the foie gras even if some consider the force feeding of these animals cruelly inhumane. This usually comes from people eating eggs and wearing leather shoes, or who routinely make their children sit at the table until ALL the asparagus has been consumed. If that’s not cruel feeding, I don’t know what is.

Nevertheless, I’m thrilled the menu item I’d never dream of ordering is now legal again because the ban made us all look like a bunch of backwater rubes. Chicago is trying for the 2016 Olympics, partially to gain recognition in the world as a place that has more to offer than Michael Jordan and Al Capone memorabilia. Now we won’t even have to imagine the snickers from the rich tourists: "Zeh Chicagoers don’t allow zeh fuwah guwah? Sacrebleu!"

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com