I found this news item on the CNSNews.com web site. It is another example of poor jurnalism.As a second-generation Christian missionary who has lived in Mexico all his life, is married to a Mexican wife, and has two Mexican children, I strongly take issue with this article as well as with the "Zogby" report. It looks like the Buchanan hate mongers are at it again! More than 8 out 10 of Mexicans living in Baja California would rather see their state annexed to the US than "reclaim" any perceived territory now belonging to the US. I don't know who was paying for the poll or how the questions were framed, but I can assure you that it fails miserably to accurately portray the real picture:

"Most Mexicans Believe Chunk of US Belongs To Them By Jim Burns CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer June 13, 2002

(CNSNews.com) - A majority of Mexicans, according to a new Zogby International poll, believe the southwestern part of the United States rightfully belongs to Mexico and that Mexicans should have the right to enter the United States without first obtaining U.S. government permission.

Zogby's poll found that 58 percent of Mexicans agree with the statement "the territory of the United States' Southwest belongs to Mexico." Only 28 percent disagreed while 14 percent were unsure.

Meanwhile, 57 percent agree with the statement "Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without U.S. permission," while 35 percent disagree. Seven percent were unsure.

The poll was conducted among 801 adults chosen at random throughout Mexico and has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

Americans for Immigration Control (AIC), a group advocating increased restrictions on Mexican immigration, commissioned the poll.

"There is obviously a large and significant gap between the attitudes of Americans and Mexicans," said Robert Goldsborough, AIC president. "While most Americans want immigration reduced, most Mexicans think they don't even need permission to enter our country.

"The poll clearly shows there is less common ground for immigration negotiations between Mexico and the U.S. than the leaders think. Support for a porous border and a loose migration policy occurs only on the Mexican side, not in the U.S.," Goldsborough concluded.

President George W. Bush earlier this year announced that America and Mexico have worked out a "new approach" on border crossings.

"We'll work with the Mexican government to identify individuals who pose threats to North America before they arrive here. We will share technology to inspect traffic on cross-border rail lines and at major ports of entry," Bush said.

But he added that the U.S. would "make sure that people with legitimate business, who travel regularly across the border, can cross easily -- so border authorities can focus on greater risks. And we will share information more quickly and efficiently with our Mexican friends.

"America's border with Mexico is a region of tremendous economic vitality, and that must not change. Both our nations benefit from close ties of family and culture and commerce. Our new approach to strengthened border security will preserve that openness, and increase the safety of our country. America will defend ourselves against new threats, at the same time that we build closer relationships with our neighbors," the president concluded.

In another recent poll, Zogby found that many Americans support using the military to guard the U.S.-Mexico border.

68 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement, "The U.S. should deploy military troops on the border as a temporary measure to help the U.S. Border Patrol curb illegal immigration." Only 28 percent disagreed, while 3 percent were unsure.

Juan Jose Bremer, Mexico's Ambassador to the United States, had no reaction to either poll, according to a spokesman."

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2002

Answers

Hey Phil,

Maybe I'm simply not connecting the dots, but what does this have to do with a- Buchanan, b- religion in general, or c- the Christian Church in particular? Is there some kind of reaction or response that this was supposed to generate from us? What did you want us to do with this information? I'm so confused!

Scott

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2002

Scott, I sincerely apologize for the confusion. If I have momentarily vented my frustrations it has only been because this topic is particularly a sensitive one with me. So much misinformation finds its way into major media sources in the US that it is almost impossible to keep track. For example, this poll was conducted among less then 900 Mexicans selected at random. That means that, according to the sponsors of this poll, we are expected to believe that 900 out nearly 100 million Mexicans is somehow supposed to be representative of the general Mexican attitude towards the US (give me a break!). For years now, I have listened to talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and the Buchanan crowd parrot the age-old “manifest destiny” doctrine that I am frankly pre-disposed to react against it. My purpose was to bring this information to your attention in order to stimulate open conversation among the forum’s participants concerning this issue of US/ Mexico relations, especially as it relates to cross- cultural evangelism on both sides of the border. This kind of misinformation, if disseminated among an already paranoid American public, has the serious potential damaging US/ Mexico relations even further. The fallout of such a propagandized atmosphere seriously jeopardizes the cause of Christ among the Mexican people both in the US and along the Mexican border. Scott, allow me to share just one of a myriad of examples of racial prejudice I have encountered in our churches. A prominent lady in one of our churches in Southern California, who I happen to know personally, holds to the idea that all Mexicans in her area are thugs, drug dealers, or worse. Oddly, she used to be a police officer although I am not sure about her particular line of service. Given this kind of attitude, do you think that she would be favorably predisposed towards cross-cultural evangelism? Hardly!

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2002

Now I see where you were going with this. That woman is probably more indicative of the attitudes of people in many of our churches than that poll was of the Mexicans. And it's not limited to any one race either, it seems to be towards anyone that's not white.

I moved into St. Louis a couple years ago expressly to start a crosscultural black/white church (I happen to be white, as are most of our Christian Church brothers in the States). We (my wife Terri and I) spoke at a church on the Illinois side of the river and ran into the parents of a girl we went to college with. They had switched churches because they were uncomfortable with the "urban mindset" that was creeping into the community of their former church in the north suburbs. They may as well have said, "There are two many black people moving into the area to make me feel safe."

We claim to be a church that is restoring the New Testament. I pray for the day when we succesfully get past the church of pre-Acts 15 where they had to decide if they would include Gentiles or not.

I'd love to hear your ideas on what we can do to turn the trend of our churches to abandon the minorities when they move into our backyards.

God bless, Scott

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2002

Wow, Scott, I sure wish I had some -suggestions that is. This is just one of those very conspicuous and glaring inconsistencies with regard to our claim to "New Testament" Christianity. I will be looking out for solutions though - let me know if you come across anything as well.

When Miriam and I were first married, we made a tour through Washington and Oregon to visit churches and share the mission work with them. The bigotry expressed by many of the church members towards my Mexican wife and another co-worker [who happened to be with us] was often as blatant as was obnoxious. Needless to say, we have never made another trip like that since we were married 16 years ago. Sometimes I wonder if our lack of support is not somehow linked to those very same attitudes - hmm.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2002

I found this posted response on behalf of a vocal Hispanic group quite interesting:

"Pat Buchanan Predicts the Death of 'Gringos' by Ernesto Cienfuegos La Voz de Aztlan Los Angeles, Alta California - 12/2/2002 - (ACN) It looks like Pzifer's Sildenafil Citrate (Viagra) tablets are not working for white men if one is to believe Pat Buchanan's new book titled "The Death of the West". Mr. Buchanan is predicting the demise of white America, white Europe and even white Israel because of the greater virility and fertility of people of color. He says that by 2050 the USA will be a Third World nation largely because of Mexican immigration and birthrates. Somebody should remind Mr. Buchanan of the great Olmec, Mayan, Teotihuacan and Aztec civilizations that existed in Mexico way prior to the time that his ragged ancestors arrived at Ellis Island starving for lack of potatoes.

Mr. Pat Buchanan is a white racist and a white bigot, plain and simple. He is now a "has been" and is simply race baiting and scaring white people in a last ditch effort to save his political career. It is not going to work. The ex-governor of Alta California, Pete (Pito) Wilson, tried the same thing and now he is a non-entity. The best that Pat Buchanan should hope for is to sell a few of his books to old folks in "white senior care centers" where their ungrateful sons and daughters dump them when they are no longer productive.

Buchanan focuses on La Raza in a chapter he titles "La Reconquista" where he contends that an invasion of the United States is taking place and that America now harbors a “nation within a nation.” We suppose that he means Aztlan. It looks like he flunked US History 101 in college because he does not seem to know that we had missions, pueblos and ranchos around here way before "gringos" ever came to this region. He writes that radical and militant Latino and Mexican leaders are conspiring for the cultural and demographic recapture of the Southwest from America and thus reversing the results of The Mexican War. It must be that he wrote the chapter before Mayor James Hahn declared Los Angeles a Mexican city. Not only is Los Angeles a Mexican city but also San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Antonio, Santa Fe, El Paso, and countless other cities in the southwest. The very names of these cities indicate their history. We have been here all this time. The only difference is that we as a people have now overcome many of the oppressive and racist policies that have been imposed on us by the "gringos" like the Buchanans and the Wilsons of the USA.

Perhaps Buchanan should look elsewhere for the causes of what he perceives to be "The Death of the West" instead of scapegoating people of color and specially us Mexicans in the southwest. Must we remind Mr. Buchanan of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire and other civilizations throughout the history of the human race. Are we responsible for the high homosexual and lesbian rates among white people? This is one reason why white people are not multiplying. How about the corruption in your highest levels of government? Must we remind Mr. Buchanan of the depraved sexual trysts of ex-president Bill Clinton with Monica Lewinsky in the White House or about Congressman Condit and his implication in the disappearance of Chandra Levy. Are we responsible for white kids committing suicide at such high rates and the shootouts at schools like the one that occurred at Columbine High School in Colorado. These incidents were all a "white thing" and we had nothing to do with them.

Sometimes us Mexicans feel sad for white kids. They do seem like they are dying. A glaring example took place during the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Alta California on New Year's Day. It just happened that the Columbine High School Band made the trip to participate in the parade. Unfortunately the Columbine H.S. Band followed another high school band from Detroit. This band consisted of all black students and they put on quite a show. Watching them marching and playing their musical instruments made one want to dance. They lifted ones spirits joyously. Then came the all white Columbine High School Band. What a sorry sight. One felt sad for them instead of happy. They seemed like people out of the film "Night of the Living Dead." They seemed dead inside with no spirit. No wonder those kids went on a rampage at the high school. I could not help think that there is a very serious "spiritual" problem at Columbine High School and that this was the cause for the shootout and killing of the thirteen students. This very same phenomena can be observed elsewhere throughout white society. Drugs (i.e. Oxycontin), alcoholism, racism, bigotry, hypocrisy, greed, homosexuality and white family incest are but a few manisfestation of the white spiritual problem. Whereas people of color commit economic crimes for survival, white people are committing "spiritual" crimes because of depravity, decadence and other similar factors. Most serial murderers throughout history, including Jack the Ripper have been white. Perhaps the fundamental problem of white people is spiritual in nature and it is this that is causing "The Death of the West". The "West" has lost its moral bearings and it is now devoid of spirituality. People of color have nothing to do with this and, to the contrary, we may be the salvation of the white people who see and understand what is really happening."

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002