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Ascending Latino leaders

Our community must forge a united leadership vision

Latinos are now this nation's largest minority - and numbers do have meaning and consequences. One consequence will inevitably be an increase in political and economic power. But if we are to be effective and united, we must define what our common leadership agenda is, what we stand for.

This task will not be accomplished by one essay, or by one person. Nor will it be accomplished in one day. But destiny and necessity call on our generation to define our goals and aspirations.

There are those who see us only as supplicants and not as decision-makers, as consumers and not as producers, as law breakers and not as law enforcers, as tax expenditures and not as tax contributors.

Stereotypes about our community abound, but invisibility is even more pervasive. For many Americans, Hispanics are a dimly blurred and often contradictory image. We acknowledge the growing economic and political power of our community. But it is necessary to ask: Power to do what?

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

We seek power to help this nation fulfill its destiny; to live up to its ideals and to go beyond the sometimes narrow definition of what it means to be an American.

I believe we as Latinos are not only about demanding our rights, but also about fully preparing to shoulder our responsibilities.

We want to build a nation where people are judged by their actions and not by their accents. We believe that being pro-family means caring as much for children who are born as some would profess to care about the unborn.

We believe in freedom of religion and freedom from religion.

We believe in a nation that promotes democracy at home and abroad. We support a nation that promotes democracy as a moral value and not as a slogan.

In the past, we rejected dictatorships of the right in Chile. Today we equally reject dictatorships of the left in Cuba. We want to live in a hemisphere where every country has free, transparent, multi-party elections. We believe in universal human rights, not just selective human rights. And we believe that freedom, like charity, begins at home.

We agree with Benito Juarez when he said "Peace means respecting the rights of others."

We believe that civil rights are the birthright of every American and not the exclusive domain of any one group or of either gender. Justice is not for just us.

We believe that as a sovereign nation, we have the right to protect our borders, to decide who has the right to enter our country and the conditions that govern immigration into our nation. But we also believe that as a nation of immigrants and as a humane people we must choose policies that honor our history with our neighbors. Above all, we recognize the shared humanity that we have with those who risk their lives for freedom and
opportunity.

LANGUAGE AS A LENS

We believe in the sanctity of our heritage, of our language and our culture, and we treasure these gifts. We reject the false dichotomy between preserving our language and becoming first-class Americans.

Cherishing our ancestral languages and cultures does not mean rejecting our common language of English. We believe in more language competency, not less, and we believe that we will become more relevant in the world when all Americans learn to view the world through the prisms of other languages. And when it comes to language, more is better.

We believe in the work ethic, patriotism, the importance of families, the free-enterprise system, and the gift of faith. We believe in these things and we not only pay verbal homage to them, the record shows that we live them day in and day out.

As a mestizo people, we strive for tolerance of different races, cultures, languages, and life styles.

Above all, we have an unwavering belief that this nation's best days are ahead of us. This nation will continue to rise and Latinos will continue to ascend to leadership positions and I submit that there is a direct correlation  between these destinies.

Raul Yzaquirre is the executive director of the new Arizona State University Center for Community Development & Civil Rights in Phoenix. (Adapted for Latino Perspectives Magazine from remarks made on the occasion of receiving the Excellence in Community Service Award from the Hispanic Congressional Caucus).