Editorial:

We have all been through some tough years lately, for some, the years have been very tough. Yet as we start the New Year there are signs of hope and of better things to come with an improving economy. While we hang in there and wait for the good times to come about, we can’t ignore that there is still a knot in the pit of our stomach – there are troubling signs on the horizon.

            During his inaugural speech, Jerry Brown presented Californians with a ‘shock and awe’ approach to what will be his proposed budget. He foreshadowed deep cuts across the board in the near future. The knot in our stomach grew a bit.

            Deep budget cuts will mean less money for education, social and health services which serve the Hispanic community. We predict that the awe part of the budget will be an appeal by Governor Brown to voters for higher taxes to restore previously cut services.

            This tough budget talk was not unexpected. By law, the State has to pass a balanced budget. Budgets under Arnold Schwarzenegger were mostly about smoke and mirrors, resulting in an unbalanced budget days after they were passed.

            But we have plenty of time to go over the future of the State budget.

            What really has us up in knots is the Republican attack on the Hispanic community, the immigrant community, with their proposal to redefine the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants.

            Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce was quoted in the Washington Times stating “The 14th Amendment was never intended to be applied to illegal aliens [the sponsor of Arizona’s SB 1070] specifically said it didn’t apply to foreigners or aliens. That amendment belongs to the African Americans of this country. It’s their amendment.”

            This effort to change the Constitution is at best a long shot. But Republicans hope that the Supreme Court will take this up and redefine the 14th amendment.

            What happens if the right wing segment is successful in redefining the Constitution?  What other constitutional amendments will they try to redefine in the future to remake this country into their vision of what America is supposed to look like? That prospect is scary just to think about it. That knot in our stomach, it just got bigger.

            The attack on the 14th Amendment is just the first salvo in what is going to be a long battle over the issue of immigration.  The battle is taking on a decisively anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic tone.

            The question now is how the Hispanic community will respond to this new wave anti-Hispanic hysteria that will sweep across the country? There is an old saying that goes something like this:  In times of comfort you cannot judge a man, it is during a time distress and discomfort that the true character of a man comes forth. The next couple of years are going to be a period of discomfort and it will be during this time that the Hispanic community will have the opportunity to show its character. I am betting that the Hispanic community will, in the spirit of Emilio Zapata, stand on their legs and fight, rather than live on their knees.