We have recently commemorated the 201 anniversary of the Mexican Independence and this was of course a big party in Mexico and the party extended itself to everywhere a Mexican was present. However, I found with deep sadness that the title of this post was to be read in an outstanding number of Facebook and Twitter "status". I don't mean to be rude by saying it but, this is one of the most offensive expressions to my beloved country I could ever imagine. If we analyse the expression in detail, it's saying the following:
- I drink Vodka because it's cool and imported
- I wear Italian clothes because they are fashionable, cool, expensive and imported
- I drive an expensive car imported from Germany
- I even kiss like a foreigner...
- But I'm proud of being a Mexican because we are cool
Don't get me wrong here, I have nothing against accepting when a country can manufacture great stuff like Italian fashion or German cars. But pointing that you are a cool Mexican just because you wear imported clothes, in the very anniversary of your country independence is kind of confusing.
And we could just say we are nothing but another victim of the stupid capitalism extended worldwide, and we would be saying the truth. But I think there is something even deeper in this Mexican thing of feeling inferior to another countries, what we call "malinchismo" in Mexico.
So why don't we talk about "wear Mexican" or "drive Mexican"? Why don't we talk about "Speak French" or "Read German" or "read at all"? Mexico is the country where every citizen reads an average of half a book a year, doesn't know his rights, avoids paying taxes and keeps complaining about the Government. Passively of course, because we are not capable of taking any action to help our country to improve. We are a country sadly full with ignorant people that think they're cool just by pretending.
We are a stupidly elitist society in which every one wants to feel superior to the other, even in the same social class. A society in which the strongly defined classes don't interact at all because "even the trash is to be classified and goes to different bins". In México, people at the top of the pyramid looks down with disdainfully, the middle classes want to be like the top class so hard, that they fake it (known as the "posh ghetto" people), and people at the bottom just want to throw swears, work as few as they can because they feel exploited by the rich and then ask for charity. And wanting to be at the top of the society shouldn't be so wrong. But instead of an educated high class, with moral and worried for their country, we have just the same ignorants but with money and a lot more arrogance, who works only for themselves. And that's the kind of people we want to become? Seriously?
How do we expect that so a divided, elitist, racist and egoist society works together to achieve a common objective?
And I'm not aiming to give a solution to such a complicated social phenomena because I'm not an expert and even if I knew the solution it would never fit in a post like this.What I want to do with this text is to start a discussion, to offend someone who identifies itself with my point of view and maybe because of anger more than because of conviction, gives a thought to this subject.
Some days ago I read something about "The tragedy of the commons" and I couldn't fight thinking that's exactly what has happened to Mexico (to the whole world actually but Mexico is an exceptionally good example). The dilemma describes how a group of people, motivated by personal interests but acting rationally, ends up destroying a common and limited resource even when it's not their interest that such depletion happens.
Again, I'm not aiming to give a solution but I think any society could use citizens working for a common good. And we should't quit our jobs and go prepare soup for the poor, that definitely helps but doesn't solve the real problem. I think that everyone can help working on what they do the best and specially if they love it. If every mexican would ask himself every morning: What am I going to do today to help my country to be a better place? What else can I do? Am I working with the good guys or the bad guys? What can I do today so the whole world wants to "wear Mexican", "drive Mexican" "read Mexican", "eat Mexican"? If every mexican would get together and think as a whole country, with a well defined and common objective, while working from it's own local scope, the future of Mexico wouldn't be so sad.
I know it's kind of ironic that this very post is written in English (and not in Spanish which is the language we speak in Mexico), but my objective is also reach more than only the Mexican audience. If you want to read it in Spanish, click here,
