Greetings,
In a letter such as this it may be hard to find an opening,
how do we get everyone’s attention. I think it can be much simpler.
Mexico is a beautiful country. Her people are wonderous,
hard working, enjoy life, enjoy each other and this is always demonstrated in
her music, her art, her cuisine and so much of a vibrant beauty in what the
people bring to their lives. I know this because I have crossed the border, la
frontera, so many times either from the Rio Grande Valley as a child, travel
down the Baja or in El Paso as an adult. It was always a joy to go to the markets,
go eat or even visit family and friends. The conversations were always
passionate and fun devoid of antagonism towards others. Could we have drank a
shot or two too much of tequila? A couple of times maybe, yet in the end all was
well.
And like any country Mexico is not perfect.
Maybe it is time to find a solution that allows the people
of Mexico to flourish because currently no one is winning and the people of
Mexico are losing. People no matter where they are in the world need to be able
to enjoy life without fear. Too much of the world is under fear right now, yet
in this moment let us try to find one solution to one challenge to allow so
many a new life.
And to find this answer we need to look beyond the current
mindset of crime and punishment.
I do not want to get into a deep dive into the nuts and
bolts of new policy, rather outline a different mentality to rid this weight on
Mexico’s people of oppression, death, corruption that the American drug trade has
put on this country. I do have some ideas for a way forward, yet for now, I
just want to offer a philosophical solution to get started.
And responsibly we do need to prosecute some form of responsibility
for the lost lives of many innocent people, so I am not suggesting any type of
blanket amnesty, yet a unique version of an amnesty proposal is part of the
deal.
Many of the people involved have invested time and money in entrepreneurial
enterprises, albeit illegal and dangerous ones. So the proposal includes the concept
that sins of the fathersf will not affect what the children can do moving
forward. This includes the resources the sins produced are reinvested into
legitimate businesses that grow Mexico’s economy. And the possibilities are
endless here.
If there is a way to allow a new generation to move into
areas where investment is needed, they could use the resources productively as both
part of the prosecution and change the country needs.
Will this make
everyone happy? Probably no one, yet right now, the current situation is doing
harm at so many levels there is no good in it for Mexico.
The possible benefits are economic growth, lives gained,
families reunited, more responsible jobs, using resources for infrastructure needs
instead of law enforcement and I could go on. Some indirect benefits are
resources by both the Mexico and the United States could be redirected to a
stronger border policy for both countries that is productive not antagonistic,
innocent lives on both sides of the border are spared, trade is more productive
and again this list is not comprehensive.
As a Christian and I know not all are Christians, I see
certain aspects of Christianity helping though and that is forgiveness and
repentance. The people of Mexico could forgive if the crimes against them stop
and going forward resources are used to better their lives. The repentance is
some will need to account for their actions and yet this can be viewed with
reason if the direct individuals accept a new fate and allow themselves to
isolate themselves from the rest of society all the while their children and
descendants can go forward with their own lives free of retribution. It is a
trade off for certain people to free themselves of a life constantly on the run
and in violence where even they do not have any freedoms now anyway. They may
have a certain “power” over some areas or groups, but they are not truly free.
They could agree together to allow a new life for their families and even have
some say in what businesses their children invest to begin. Yet overall though
they would need to accept a new role of quiet solitude to allow their later
years to be lived in repentance and reflection.
The possibility of criticism for an idea like this is immeasurable
since it is wrought with the concept of what some people call underserving individuals
a way to avoid consequences these same people prefer for their illlicit
actions. And I fall under that camp somedays. Yet all I see is the problem is
getting worse not better no matter how much money is given to law enforcement
on both sides of the border. People die daily in both countries, many are
totally innocent of the events this idea hopes to overcome. So if you want to
criticize come with a better idea.
There is so much more to implement a proposal such as this
and there will need to be buy in that will have to come with a word no one
likes in this situation and that is trust. All sides will have to take that
infamous leap of faith to make an idea like this even come close to working.
Yet standing pat on the current situation gives us nothing. Trust is difficult
to achieve sometimes on a one to one basis and to build it with so many moving
pieces may seem impossible. Rather I say create steps, take them one at a time
to give every player some confidence they can move to the next step. And one
day hopefully soon, people can wake up in their town or village, go to work, spend
the holidays with their families out in the open, visit and tour the country,
have faith in the people around them and enjoy what all of us should be able to
enjoy and that is this wonderful life we have been given.
Cheers