Question + Answer essay
Question One
Latinos have been living in the United States for several years. Having first come to places like Kansas City as cowboys, workers and Laborers, today they have spread across the United States and there are quite a number of Latino Americans living in the States. They have held on to their culture and passed it down from one generation to the next thus keeping their traditions and language alive. Latinos have however faced several challenges in this country.
America has and always will be the land of the free-the home of the brave and a land that has endless and meaningful opportunities for the people that inhabit it, this includes the Latino people. Having lived and learned ways and trades in the United States for so long, the Latino people are pretty much the same as any other group of people who migrated to the States for a better life. The better Life comes with making choices that are meaningful, and this includes choosing the right type of leaders, being politically active, having a representative in the government who can cater for the rights, wishes, and requirements of the Latino people. Latinos have been referred to as the sleeping giant, specifically because of the massive influence their numbers could have on the next elections especially with many new first time voters making the choice to vote, after several years of registering without turning up to vote. They have claimed that they are ready for the battle and believing they have the power to elect a president this coming election. The Latino Candidates in the Republican Party have been said to be making history and the voters are expected to follow suit. Chances are they will create a significant difference in the forth- coming elections.
Question 2
According to Anzaldua’s thoughts in “Towards a new consciousness,” she insists on the importance of Mestiza consciousness(Anzald 405), which is important when it comes to viewing people of different races especially Latinos as a unified community. This form of consciousness is important for Latino leaders especially if they want to make a change in how people view the Latino community. Leadership is vital for Latinos in the United States. This is because it gives them a platform to fight and air the needs and requirements that are specific to their community directly, making it possible for them to have a representative that can bring change and transformation. Leaders are enabled to fight for the poor and those who suffer because of many reasons in the United States and are affected by issues of immigration, shelter, jobs, quality education, racial discrimination, and healthcare among others.
Just like the Latino community have stuck together even during the early times when they first settled in America, leadership brings to them an essence of having grown as a community and not just grown, but having done it together. Leaders that have been elected to help fulfill the dreams and wants of their people are thus looked upon to share the help they can give so that every other Latino can indeed experience the land of opportunities, which is for all and not just some. It is therefore important for Latino leaders to be good role models because it is through that that they encourage other Latinos to step up and take up these positions.
Works Cited
Anzald, Gloria E. “Borderlands : The New Mestiza = La Frontera.” La frontera (1991): 203 S. : Ill. Print.
