Do you hear that? That’s the voice of people awaking. Across states like Wisconsin and Florida, countries like Libya and Egypt, people are uprising, organizing, and influencing public discourse. People are no longer sitting idly by letting others make decisions that have a direct impact on their future.
In March 2011, the Census reported that the Hispanic population in the United States has surpassed 50 million. About three-quarters of Hispanics now live in the nine states that have long-standing Hispanic populations, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York and Texas.
What do these numbers mean? Absolutely nothing if the Latino community does not organize. For far too long, Latinos in the United States have been footnotes in stories and the butt of unfortunate jokes. We can blame it on the ignorance of people who just do not know better. For better or worse, they have been raised in communities where diversity is not celebrated.
As a Latina I will say this, a substantial amount of the blame can be placed on our own community. For far too we have been dormant; unable to come together as one. The best part of being Hispanic is that we share a love of family and community. Now is a good a time as ever to wake up the sleeping giant and make a difference in our communities. The numbers have spoken, now it is our turn.
Our community is constantly changing and evolving. For instance, I know some of you will take issue with my use of the terms Latino(a) and Hispanic interchangeably in this editorial. I do it purposefully. I want you to remember one thing. Latino voting philosophies are quite diverse; like the food we eat, music we listen to, and the accents we have. The most important thing to remember when voting is that we should strive to elect those who respect our community. If you stay quiet, the day for equality will never come.
Politics – I don’t know why, but they seem to have a tendency to separate us, to keep us from one another, while nature is always and ever making efforts to bring us together. ~Sean O’Casey
¡Si se puede!
Marucci
