Cinco de Mayo

Mexican restaurants and bars will be alive with celebrations of "Cinco de Mayo" throughout the US today. Officially it's a commemoration of the victory of the Mexican militia over the professional French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. (It's not the Mexican Independence Day, as some believe.) Unofficially, it's party time, and Gringos have as big a stake in that as anyone! I guess I'm an official party-pooper at heart, but I'm hoping and praying that folks drowning in margaritas and Coronas stay off the roadways this evening. Yeah, right.

I do love the Mexican culture, and Hispanic cultures in general. The Spanish language is beautiful, the people are typically warm, demonstrative, generous and family-oriented. Many of the places I've seen in Mexico are picturesque, though for vast multitudes the living conditions are Third World. I'm dismayed, like everyone else, about the drug wars going on in Mexico now, particularly along the US border. I lived in El Paso during the 1980s, and I had many occasions to visit Ciudad Juarez just across the Rio Grande. So it is horrible to see the murders and gunfights on the streets of that city and others. The drug traffic, of course, requires a market.

Here I go being judgmental again. The US is a huge drug market. Colombian drug lords have known that for a long time. The Mexican cartels do too. so when we get self-righteous about demanding that neighbor countries stop the drug traffic, it's time to look in the mirror.

Folks in the US are into partying, which is why Cinco de Mayo, St Patrick's Day, the Big Game, and virtually any other time becomes a good excuse for excessive drinking, etc. Alcoholism and drug addiction are no laughing matter. The cost to our society, to individuals, to families, is astronomical and growing exponentially. I have wondered what it is about modern life that lends itself so much to the need for mind-numbing substances. I also have wondered how best to counteract that tendency with hope.