"Born this way"

As some of you may know, I am a big Lady Gaga fan. I previously stated that her songs "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face" are some of my favorite songs of all times. However, her most recent song, "Born this Way" is quickly becoming my favorite song. In this song, Gaga speaks of a conversation she had with her mother. The lyrics of the song bring home the topic of acceptance; for we are all born a certain way. This song made me reflect a lot about me and who I am. The first thing that came to mind is my ethnicity. I was born into a Mexican family. I am very proud to be a Mexican American and  I consider my culture unique. But in past few years, being a Mexican has been everything but unique. For those of you who are not aware, Mexico is currently fighting a battle against cartels. Many innocent lives are lost in Mexico on a daily basis; the most recent count has a total of 34,600 lives lost. Everyday, President Calderon's administration finds enemies out in the battle field. One of the most beautiful countries in the world has become one of the most dangerous. Through it's violence and blooshed, I sometimes think that Mexico would be a much better place for a Mexican American to live. The opposition and unacceptance that Mexicans have received in "the land of hope" is quite heartbreaking. The most notable unacceptance has come in one of the many lines of SB 1070, Arizona's most recent legislative law. This new provision allowed police officers to stop drivers, if they believed they were in the U.S. illegally. My initial thought was, "The state of Arizona better start hiring a lot more officers since they will be pulling over ALL drivers." Perhaps Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, has used some intelligence to create a new device to tell apart citizens from undocumented aliens. Who knows? What I do know is that Governor Brewer has established that this new legislation will make communities safer and restore peace in her state. I think Governor Brewer and I need to take a road trip through Arizona and stop at every gun store in that state. Maybe her "new device" will be able to track all the guns that leave Arizona and end up in Mexico. It may come as no surprise that the Governor believes that most guns in Arizona come from Mexico. The worst thing for a Mexican American is hearing statements like, "Illegal immigrants take jobs away from American citizens." I wish people were just as competitve in trying to restore world peace as they are in competing for jobs. This "land of hope" that I live in is becoming the "land of opposition." The country that the American founding fathers established is beginning to close its doors to a group of people. As I stated before, I am very proud of who I am. Perhaps, Lady Gaga's song comes into play when I ask, "Is it my fault that I was born this way?...A colored man?"