Perspective. Recently, we had the opportunity the visit the border. The current situation at the border is complex, it is heartbreaking, and it is also unsafe. Unsafe for whom you may ask? It is unsafe for everyone involved. I don’t want this blog post to be used for either side’s political agenda, so I’ll try to stay away from politics and closer to people. The United States and Mexico have a vital symbiotic relationship, this symbiotic relationship is perhaps only understood at its deepest level by those living in border towns, both on the American and Mexican side.
Our time there was spent mostly sightseeing, connecting with people, and of course; enjoying the amazing Mexican cuisine. This put things into perspective for us. Perspective we thought we had, but for a lengthy moment, we had lost. On the American side, neglected communities had to recently unfairly carry the Bourdain of dealing with an unsustainable wave of migrants coming to The United States. On the Mexican side, communities are inundated with poverty, inequality, drug cartels, and now, an unsustainable wave of migrants.
Our privilege had gone unchecked; it is checked now, and we feel more focused, redirected, and back on track. But it took a trip out of our comfort zone to get a different perspective on things and realize that we have it good, in fact, very good.
In the 1960s during the space race era, we were dealing with a lot of issues, perhaps issues not much different than the problems that we face today. Some of the arguments against going to the moon were: “There’s nothing there” “Waste of money” and “Focus on the problems here on earth” among many others. I believe they were all valid points, but I’m glad we went to the moon. It helped us look at the earth, look at us from a different point of view; it gave us…perspective.
- U.S.-Mexico Border Perspective
- U.S.-Mexico Border Perspective
