Mexico
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:00 pm
Are illegal drugs and smuggled American arms the root causes of violence in Mexico? I don’t believe that they are. I think that there are several other reasons that the entire country is coming apart at the seams.
If the general population of a country desires peace and prosperity, that is what they will have. Sounds simplistic, doesn’t it. It is simplistic. Regardless of what politicians on both sides would have you believe. It is not government and laws that keep a population in check but rather the will of the people. If the general population of say, Houston, wanted to have general chaos in the streets there would be nothing that the government could do to stop it. There are not enough police and firemen and emergency personnel to have any effect with a general uprising. That is what we are seeing today in Mexico. There are too many outlaws with weapons and the will to use them for the authorities to have much effect in stopping them. The rewards that they are reaping are too great. Entire communities are built up around the transportation and manufacturing of illegal drugs.
Why is this happening? I think that there is one overlying reason that no politician on either side of the border dares to mention. The general population of Mexico is unarmed. They can not fight back against these outlaws even if they wanted to. As a result, they are leaving the country in droves. Again, police and even army can not control a large number of the population if they do not want to be controlled. Only the general population when they desire to end the chaos can do it. I am not saying that an armed insurrection is the answer; just the threat of it will do the trick. Several instances of armed resistance by the general population would stop it in its tracks. If the outlaws knew that they were faced with an armed and resolute general population the violence would end rather quickly.
Most of the people who would fight to change the present situation have either already left or are in the planning stages of moving their families and businesses out of the country. They really have no choice in the matter. They realize that in order to survive they must get away from the civil unrest and violence that runs rampant in their country today. If those same people had access to weapons of self defense, none of this would be happening in Mexico.
It is the mindset of the people along with the means and ability to do something about it that will stop the violence, not laws and political maneuvers. Peace and prosperity can not be legislated. It must be something that the general population wants. Laws are to be used as punishment for acts that are committed against society. Very rarely can they be used to steer a population in a certain direction. When this is tried it usually ends in dismal failure. Witness prohibition and even our current drug laws. Criminals by their very nature do not obey or respect any law. By the way, that also means that everyone who uses illegal drugs is a criminal and is contributing to this problem.
The continued news stories that we are being inundated with from our wonderful media continue to focus on the smuggling of arms from the US into Mexico. I would agree that this has become a problem. The problem is that the weapons are going to the wrong people. I would also like to remind the president of Mexico and our own politicians that the only reason that Mexico, as bad as their current situation continues to be, is a democracy today is because of the flow of weapons and personnel from the US into Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Without the arms and people behind them Mexico would still be a part of Spain or perhaps worse.
What are the major differences between the USA and Mexico? The first is our mindset that we as a country want peace and prosperity. The second is that our citizens have the means and ability to do something about those who would rather have chaos and lawlessness, we are an armed population and the people of Mexico are not.
If the general population of a country desires peace and prosperity, that is what they will have. Sounds simplistic, doesn’t it. It is simplistic. Regardless of what politicians on both sides would have you believe. It is not government and laws that keep a population in check but rather the will of the people. If the general population of say, Houston, wanted to have general chaos in the streets there would be nothing that the government could do to stop it. There are not enough police and firemen and emergency personnel to have any effect with a general uprising. That is what we are seeing today in Mexico. There are too many outlaws with weapons and the will to use them for the authorities to have much effect in stopping them. The rewards that they are reaping are too great. Entire communities are built up around the transportation and manufacturing of illegal drugs.
Why is this happening? I think that there is one overlying reason that no politician on either side of the border dares to mention. The general population of Mexico is unarmed. They can not fight back against these outlaws even if they wanted to. As a result, they are leaving the country in droves. Again, police and even army can not control a large number of the population if they do not want to be controlled. Only the general population when they desire to end the chaos can do it. I am not saying that an armed insurrection is the answer; just the threat of it will do the trick. Several instances of armed resistance by the general population would stop it in its tracks. If the outlaws knew that they were faced with an armed and resolute general population the violence would end rather quickly.
Most of the people who would fight to change the present situation have either already left or are in the planning stages of moving their families and businesses out of the country. They really have no choice in the matter. They realize that in order to survive they must get away from the civil unrest and violence that runs rampant in their country today. If those same people had access to weapons of self defense, none of this would be happening in Mexico.
It is the mindset of the people along with the means and ability to do something about it that will stop the violence, not laws and political maneuvers. Peace and prosperity can not be legislated. It must be something that the general population wants. Laws are to be used as punishment for acts that are committed against society. Very rarely can they be used to steer a population in a certain direction. When this is tried it usually ends in dismal failure. Witness prohibition and even our current drug laws. Criminals by their very nature do not obey or respect any law. By the way, that also means that everyone who uses illegal drugs is a criminal and is contributing to this problem.
The continued news stories that we are being inundated with from our wonderful media continue to focus on the smuggling of arms from the US into Mexico. I would agree that this has become a problem. The problem is that the weapons are going to the wrong people. I would also like to remind the president of Mexico and our own politicians that the only reason that Mexico, as bad as their current situation continues to be, is a democracy today is because of the flow of weapons and personnel from the US into Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Without the arms and people behind them Mexico would still be a part of Spain or perhaps worse.
What are the major differences between the USA and Mexico? The first is our mindset that we as a country want peace and prosperity. The second is that our citizens have the means and ability to do something about those who would rather have chaos and lawlessness, we are an armed population and the people of Mexico are not.