By: Daniel Nardini
How this pack of drivel ever got on the New York Times bestseller list I will never know. Pat Buchanan’s latest book, Suicide of a Superpower , could not be a bigger rant against Latinos, against all the ethnic and racial minorities who helped build this country, and against America’s religious diversity. It is little wonder then that he was canned by the news network MSNBC, and even less wonder why so many gay, African American, and Latino groups are vehemently critical of Buchanan. This book has very racist and ethnocentric views that are truly bizarre and twisted. What I find objectionable is Buchanan calling Mexicans an “alien force, with one foot in America and the other in Mexico.” He is implying that Mexicans, and Latinos in general, are so “different” that they will not accept and cannot become part of America’s mainstream culture, institutions and society. What particularly bothered me was the book hinting that somehow, some way Mexicans are not “white.” Mexicans come from different races like Americans and I am especially incensed that somehow Mexicans are portrayed in Buchanan’s book as a force that may “destroy” the United States.
The allegation that Mexicans and Latinos only use Spanish could not be more patently false. As I have said time and again almost every Latino recognizes the need to learn English. Without English, Latinos know that they cannot do everyday things from driving to shopping to even conducting business. English is the language of academia and government. And the accusation that Mexicans (what about Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Argentinians, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Peruvians, and a whole list of other Latino groups Mr. Buchanan?) come from such a “different culture” that they cannot understand our democratic institutions. It seems that Buchanan rails against Mexicans as if they are the only Latinos. But if one looks at Buchanan’s latest book closer, one will find all kinds of racist non-sense. He constantly uses the terms “European” and “white” to define “American civilization.” And of course, this right wing rant would not be complete if he did not mention constantly that America was built on “our Judeo-Christian heritage.”
As I recommend for other books, I recommend my readers to read Suicide of a Superpower (note: I say to read it but not to buy it. Don’t waste your money). It is sad that such books get publicity. But if there are books worth getting, I recommend the following two put out by the Southern Poverty Law Center: Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, New York, and Speak Up: Responding to Everyday Bigotry . It is in my book far more important to teach tolerance and trying to get along as a people than finding scapegoats for supposed reasons why America may go down the tubes.
Suicide of a Crazy Commentator
By: Daniel Nardini
The allegation that Mexicans and Latinos only use Spanish could not be more patently false. As I have said time and again almost every Latino recognizes the need to learn English. Without English, Latinos know that they cannot do everyday things from driving to shopping to even conducting business. English is the language of academia and government. And the accusation that Mexicans (what about Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Argentinians, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Peruvians, and a whole list of other Latino groups Mr. Buchanan?) come from such a “different culture” that they cannot understand our democratic institutions. It seems that Buchanan rails against Mexicans as if they are the only Latinos. But if one looks at Buchanan’s latest book closer, one will find all kinds of racist non-sense. He constantly uses the terms “European” and “white” to define “American civilization.” And of course, this right wing rant would not be complete if he did not mention constantly that America was built on “our Judeo-Christian heritage.”
As I recommend for other books, I recommend my readers to read Suicide of a Superpower (note: I say to read it but not to buy it. Don’t waste your money). It is sad that such books get publicity. But if there are books worth getting, I recommend the following two put out by the Southern Poverty Law Center: Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, New York, and Speak Up: Responding to Everyday Bigotry . It is in my book far more important to teach tolerance and trying to get along as a people than finding scapegoats for supposed reasons why America may go down the tubes.