July 4, 1776, Independence Day

 

PHOENIX (By Jon Garrido, The Jon Garrido Network) July 4, 2010 — Today is Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July.

 

A federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

 

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

 

Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

 

A proud day for all Americans and for those who would like to become Americans.

 

There are 12 million persons in the United States who would like to become Americans but because of racism toward brown faces, these "wannabe Americans" on this day will not celebrate as Americans; never-the-less, these "wannabe Americans" will celebrate with fireworks and back yard barbecues with great optimism because all "wannabe Americans" and American Hispanics know, maybe not tomorrow or this year or even next year, but some day, these "wannabe Americans" will become Americans.

 

It is only a matter of time.

 

Unfortunately, this delay is partially our own fault.

 

We traditionally do not vote in most elections. We still do not understand and accept the power of the ballot box.

 

The numbers may be increasing in national elections but state and local elections have a greater direct impact on our lives.

 

It was the Arizona state legislature that passed a law call SB 1070.

 

It was most Maricopa county voters who voted for Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  May be hard to believe but if every American Hispanic in Maricopa County voted to get rid of Joe Arpaio, we could replace him with a sheriff of our choosing.

 

It was the Phoenix city council who passed a food tax. 

 

Voting is important and even crucial if we want to participate as Americans but many Hispanics may be conditioned by the histories of other countries, where votes were bought or stolen by political machines leading Hispanics to think voting is meaningless.

 

Some of this skepticism leads to Hispanics not supporting Hispanic candidates in local and state elections. The very thought of making a political contribution to elect a Hispanic makes skeptics of most Hispanics. And in America, one does not have to be an American citizen to make a political contribution by donation so even the Undocumented have a responsibility to help elect American Hispanics.

 

Until we turn the herd mentality to register, vote for Hispanic candidates and make financial campaign contributions to elect Hispanics to public offices, the 12 million "wannabe Americans" plus American Hispanics will never all celebrate as Americans.