el crispito

This news comes as politicians from various Mexican political parties are jumping on the bandwagon to decry the ongoing violence in Mexico. Of particular concern are the attacks on women in Ciudad Juárez, where nearly 400 women have been murdered in the past ten years. The Amnesty report suggests that the problem persists because of resistance to punishing officials implicated in human rights abuses.

That politicians can simultaneously speak out against something while sweeping their own culpability under the rug is no surprise to anyone on either side of the border or political aisle. Bill Clinton proclaimed himself a defender of traditional marriage signing the Defense of Marriage Act yet his own actions with that woman went a little beyond the traditional. George W. Bush argued against affirmative action being used to guide college admissions, but didn't seem to mind when it helped him get into Yale.

The American public didn't seem to care too much about these cases, perhaps because they only further document something we all know: that politicians can be pandering hypocrites. That isn't big news, but we should all note when it happens. There's a good chance that if your elected politicians sell out people you don't care about, they're likely to sell you out too. Just ask conservatives who benefitted from Bush's being elected on moral issues only to end up frustrated by his ignoring economic matters. But that should come as no surprise to them; it's easy to whip up hysteria about the other; it's harder to tackle real problems.

All the hot air rising in Mexico isn't going to solve their dire environmental problems, strip away the camouflage that continues to shelter the corruption that lives on post-perfect dictatorship nor stop the violence and kidnappings that are frightening away tourists and their wallets. They've made a good start in cleaning out some of their closets, but if reform continues to lag by 30 years in Mexico, they'll never solve the underlying problem.

And in the United States? While constantly talking about "Democracy on the march," our current leadership is undermining America's credibility as one of the good guys by abusing human rights abroad in the name of fighting terrorism. We need to hold true to our ideals because they are right. And if they're right, they're right in all cases, not just in the ones where it's easy to act in accordance with them. Selling out for political expediency or in the name of security has proven historically to be a bad idea.

As for me, I'm choosing Mexico. At least there, the people seem willing to admit that their government is full of crap.