Hey, here is one way to get more voter support

[kandrathe]

I'm saying that by telling them what to do in their country, they are inadvertently stepping back and doing nothing. Here comes another analogy, only because it happened to me last night: dog was thirsty after running in the park, tried to give dog water by "showing" him where it was, dog didn't want water because he felt like he was being forced and that desire to rebel was greater than his need to quench his thirst. All living organism have that desire; it's what causes us to strive, overcome adversity, and evolve, but in Mexico's case, it's not a good thing.

But, but, but... isn't this exactly what every nation does to every other nation? Be it other nations chastising the US, which we ignore in favor of our own foreign and domestic policies. Or, when the US chastises or pressures other nations, which they ignore in favor of their own foreign and domestic policies. The nature of sovereignty is that you get to do, as a nation, whatever you can get away with before some international coalition grows enough of a spine to impose sanctions, or the other nation(s) you PO'd strike back (if they feel they can not get stomped). It's not like we can actually grab the failed Mexican politicians, bring them to Juarez for a day, and figuratively rub their noses in their mess. Once in awhile, we will find some common ground with another nation where our foreign, or domestic agenda's align. Otherwise, in general, everyone focuses on their own foreign and domestic agendas, and they tell outsiders to take a flying leap (if they can be that tactless). Mostly nations politely (impotently) suggest to each other during a 10 course government funded extravaganza that they might want to look, if they possibly could, at that issue with which they are concerned. It often is forgotten before dessert.

I agree with you that America should do it's part - I'm not disputing this - but I don't believe anything will ever be completely resolved until Mexico does its part, and when I see posters saying, "we" should do "this" to solve the immigration problem, it makes me sad because only Mexico can really fix Mexico's issues. We can do our part here in America, sure, but how can you move such stubborn people to help themselves? You solve that riddle and you've just come up with an answer to the core issue of immigration from Mexico.

Mexico has no interest in keeping its most impoverished citizens in Mexico, why should they? And, for the illegal drug trade, consider that its economic impact ($40 billion / yr) is almost as large as PEMEX ($70 billion / yr). Do you really think Mexico wants to or can excise a tumor that big from its economy?

How many hundreds of thousands have we (the US) spent sending troops overseas to help teach poor Afghans and Iraqi's how to read and write, about fairness and democracy?

Not as much as we've spent teaching them how to better kill each other.

Yet we spend millions, maybe even billions annually to stop the war on drugs which might better be spent sending in troops into Mexico to help the indigenous people learn to make a difference in their community.

You don't send in troops to "make a difference", unless that difference is that you want those people dead. We need to stop looking at our military as the deliverer of Police, or Social Services. And... Beyond the objections of US citizen in spending our blood and treasure thusly, Mexico might object to us sending troops into their nation. We aren't really the UN nation building corps sent on our whim to any nation where the standard of living falls short of rural Alabama.

You stop the war on drugs, by decriminalizing drug use and by putting in place an enforceable set of tariffs and taxes. You allow legal growers, and importers who are willing to pay the tariffs and taxes access to the market, and make the costs of the illegal market untenable. You drive the illegal market out of business. Once you control the market, then you can influence the consumer behavior. For example, tobacco consumption (from 1965 to 2006 falling from 42% to 20.8% of adults in the US).

You don't know how many stories I hear from my employees about "where they come from" in Mexico where there is no electricity, no paved roads, no running water. I'd say a good 50% of our workers have about a grade-school education in Mexico, if they are lucky! I'm not exaggerating! There are *better* ways to help Mexico than to "shoot to kill", or even make drugs legal - although this one would make a big dent.

And, we care about Mexico over say Kenya due to its location? Yes, as individuals we care. How much should we expect our federal government to do in bringing social equity to the entire world (not just Mexico). Because, right after you solve the Mexico problem, you'll have the Brazil problem, or the Philippines problem, or China, or India. We should also note that we don't have the resources (i.e. we have a deficit/debt) to plan for our own peoples future, let alone take on that of the planet.

As for quality of life issues... Back when I was in grade school, my family had a little cabin up north in rural Minnesota 25 miles from a paved road. During the summer, my mother, sisters, and I would live up at the cabin. We didn't have electricity (oil lamps at night). We had a hand pump, with a well we put in ourselves. We had a garden, in which we grew much of our own food and we fished off the dock. We had an outhouse, which was a scary 100 yards walk from the cabin at 2am -- not to mention the spiders. And, since I was in grade school, I only had a grade school education. I don't remember suffering (except the walk to the outhouse -- and the spiders). Maybe a better measure of poverty would be having a dirt floor, or no access to fuel for cooking, or not enough nutritious food.