Mexican American

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a coworker and he mentioned something he had heard on the radio. It had to do with Cinco de Mayo and an incident about a flag. Anyways what he had said was that a person called into a radio program and was told that they were American. They were not Mexican American, they were American. My coworker agreed with the comment and said he didn't understand how someone could be Mexican American, or African American or anything other than just American. Now I know this might be obvious at this point, but my coworker is white. He asked me if I was American or Mexican American. I told him I was Mexican American and here is why. I am a Mexican. My family is Mexican. And i'm not just talking race here either. I'm talking culture. My family still has their roots in Mexican culture. My wife's family still has their roots in Mexican culture. A lot of the things that we do and the way that we live our lives is because of the way our parents were raised and the way their parents were raised. Mexican. I celebrate Mexican Mother's Day. I celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I take pride in Mexican Independence Day. I wish to learn more about Mexican history and where my families come from. I want to learn to be more Mexican and to be proud to be Mexican. Does this mean that I'm not proud to be an American? Of course not! I love being an American as well. I've grown up surrounded by American culture as well. I'm proud to celebrate Independence day, and to know about the civil war, and the revolutionary war. I'm honored to say that my uncles served America in the military. America can be a great country. But i'm not going to give up my roots, my history for this country. I believe that is what is wrong with America. People come here and forget where they come from. They no longer know their history. They don't know where their ancestors came from aside from the fact that they came across on a boat. By losing our history we lose part of our identities. I won't let that happen. I will stand as a Mexican American and continue to show other people that their are two sides to where i come from. Will you?

Agent J