One of the most beautiful things about our country is our diversity. With the 2008 Olympics in just a few days, I am so proud to be an American, not just a Mexican-American, but a true, AMERICAN. There are so few times or days that we all get that warm feeling in our gut filled with good ol' fashion AMERICAN PRIDE. For me those days are few and far in between, mostly the 4th of July and the Olympics, when we win! When you see Americans in the Olympics they are a rainbow of colors, not carbon copies of each other like in other countries, our diversity is a beautiful thing! Other times, at sporting events, when our National Anthem comes on before the game. These are the only times I feel proud to be American when so many other countries out there hate us! I am also proud of my Mexican heritage, but their is so much corruption on both sides of the border that I really am pinned up against the fence. I try to live my life and do right, so my patriotism is hardly ever in question because it only comes up when I am looking dead at the ugly face of racism in America.

I have been stared at while shopping in upscale department stores, the employees refused to help me and if they did they never had anything in "my size" and when I'd ask the price of an item I was told "it's very expensive." One time I was smoking a cigarette in front of a bar with my boyfriend at the time (who was Black) and three other Mexican-American friends and this trashy looking white guy called us all "N!GGERS!" Now, I'm used to being called a Wet Back, beaner, but we were in our own neighborhood near San Diego State University, not in a "white" neighborhood! I was so disgusted at the use of that word, but then, one of our friends said, "Well, that's what they think about ALL of us, not just black people." I was so angry that I wished I was a man so I could kick his dirty, ignorant you-know-what! My boyfriend was so used to hearing that word that is just wasn't a big deal to him.

I am one of the first members of my family to date inter-racially, I've dated Black men, Guamanian, Filipino, and various mixed individuals with 2, or more, different ethnicities running through their veins. They were all the same to me, their touch, kiss, and other body parts, even their attitudes were similar. Some had the "victim" complex about their ethnic background, others were more empowered and macho about it, but to me, men are men. They are all anatomically the same but the wrapping paper is different. I knew we had different cultures, but I'm Buddhist, so we also had religious differences too. In my opinion, cultures should be celebrated especially if they are different from my own; same with religious differences, I always want to learn more and have a good time celebrating life with other people. Sure I love my Mexican culture, but I know the routine, I want to see what other people do to celebrate and have fun and learn about it. Not everyone feels the same way I do and not everyone sees color and race the way I do, I suppose that's why I embrace our differences and think that people who don't are just ethnocentric and ignorant.

Let's jump in our time machine and visit our American forefathers:

"Whether (Thomas) Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings is the subject of considerable controversy. Regarding marriage between blacks and whites, Jefferson wrote that "[t]he amalgamation (mixing) of whites with blacks produces a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of excellence in the human character, can innocently consent." (Written my Thomas Jefferson in 1814) In addition, Hemings was likely the half-sister of Jefferson's deceased wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson (John Wayles had a reputation for relations with his slaves). The allegation that Jefferson fathered children with Hemings first gained widespread public attention in 1802, when controversial journalist James T. Callender, wrote in a Richmond newspaper, "...[Jefferson] keeps and for many years has kept, as his concubine, one of his slaves. Her name is Sally."Jefferson never responded publicly about this issue but is said to have denied it in his private correspondence.

A 1998 DNA study concluded that there was a DNA link between some of Hemings descendants and the Jefferson family, but it did not conclusively prove that Jefferson himself was their ancestor. (He belonged to the Haplogroup 'T' DNA group.) Three studies were released in the early 2000s, following the publication of the DNA evidence. In 2000, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which runs Monticello, appointed a multi-disciplinary, nine-member in-house research committee of Ph.D.s and an M.D. to study the matter of the paternity of Hemings's children. The committee concluded "it is very unlikely that any Jefferson other than Thomas Jefferson was the father of [Hemings's six] children."

Thomas Jefferson was our third president, the main author of our Declaration of Independence, introduced Republican ideals and virtues and Democratic politics but heavily influenced the modern day Democratic Party. Could it be true that not only did he have sex with a woman that was half black, but that they had six children together? The third president of the free world was hooking up with a slave? Say it ain't SO! He also held many different positions in our government and greatly supported the separation of church and state. In the Declaration of Independence he wrote:

"We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles & organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness"

This is why cannot understand why Americans are so concerned about color, poor people, rich people, convicts, and Judges and everyone else, ALL come in different colors so why does it matter? In the Hispanic community, most of the light skinned women are thought of as beautiful, but those that "look" Black or Native are considered ugly. The U.S and Latin American Countries (Including Mexico, Central and South America) stress the importance of color and how each shade will dictate their class or socioeconomic status. In other words, the darker you are, the uglier and poorer you are; the lighter you are, the more beautiful and rich you are. I have seen ugly people in all shades, so why does any one care? Asian cultures are the same, Koreans don't like the Japanese, and they (Asians) all think they are smarter or better then the other. Anyone who is familiar with Asian cultures can tell the difference by their skin color, hair, and facial features, among other traits like dialect, accent, etc. African immigrants have the same issues too, some cultures think they are superior to others. Why is that? They are, for the most part, all Black.

America is the worst, I mean, every now and then you'll hear about a lynching, think about the NYPD and the LAPD, and the South, old Confederate states, how some schools were still segregated until about 1979 when the Civil Rights were established in 1964. Think about all the stereotypes and racial slurs you heard as a child and how they affected you as as teenager and as an adult. How have you changed or do you feel the same way your parents do/did? How can you make a difference? Or are you going to teach your children to be the same way? In the U.S there is no PURE RACE, that is ignorant thinking, we are all mixed up because we're in the middle of all the continents with countries with pure races. Think logically about it, In the U.S some people have a mixture of European ancestors, including African and Native American ancestors as well. With the U.S obtaining Alaska and Hawaii, we have a little Asian mix to or blood. When the U.S took in Chinese immigrants to build rail roads, Hispanics and Africans to work the fields, various European immigrants to escape from the persecution going on in their countries, we are a big mixed spring salad! Consider the Spanish and Portuguese settlers and how they mixed with the natives all over the American continent (Canada to South America), the Pacific islands (Philippines, Japan, Guam, etc.), as well as the African continent, and Asia. A country as small as Spain was conquered so many times that they were all mixed up before they built ships and sailed around the world. For the record, Spain was conquered by the Moors who were, you guessed it, Black, and they were also conquered by Arab nations, think of words like "alfombra, alcoba" and other words that begin with an al- prefix. It is completely ridiculous to think that there are any pure races in the U.S no matter how many cousins have babies together!

We, as Americans, need to focus on being people, instead of thinking of color and superiority. The color of our skin, no matter how obvious it may be, is the last thing we need to focus attention on because we are all going through the same American Experience. The American Experience is that we are all subject to the same laws, we all pay taxes (in some way or form), we all pay the same for gas and other costs of living, and we are all living on the same patch of earth together. The color of your skin is simply a delusion to keep people from focusing on the REAL problems in our country, like our dirty politicians and their evil politics, our health care system, our educational system, and more. Who gives a crap about how dark or light you are when we have more important things we should unite together and focus on? I don't care what color our government is because more and more politicians are different shades on the color scale, but it's their politics that matter. Are they really representing "us," their own personal issues, or the issues they get paid by lobbyists and all those other schemers to represent ?!

When you're looking for a job, your race shouldn't even matter because with the right training a monkey can do the job! Even KoKo the gorilla learned sign language and could communicate with humans! We are just too obsessed with color, and it's so irrelevant that it's stupid. I know I get mad when someone cuts me off on the road, and I hate when I get those looks from people, but in reality, I get cut off by every race in the book! Asians aren't the only bad drivers, a lot of Hispanics do have auto insurance, not every Black person has crack in their car, and not all Arabs are suicide bombers! Come one people, educate yourself, embrace our differences, learn to love people and hate ignorance! This is the best place on earth! Well, our education and health systems suck but it is OUR responsibility to change that because our government is in no rush to change things. As long as the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, and we can either put up with it or turn the other cheek. There is only one person who can change the way things are in our country... each and every one of us, TOGETHER! Please VOTE, petition your government, write your congressmen and women, protest what is unequal, fight to preserve your rights, we are the only country whose citizens have the right to do this even if you get assassinated! Don't just stand there and take it in the rear, stand up for something! Think of your children's future, America can always be a better place to live.