A message to Never-Voters

By Felix Alvarado

BACKGROUND

I know how it feels like to be powerless. As a 5-year-old, born to pick cotton, and as a senior in high school I was taught to be obedient, regardless of circumstance. In our culture a child must always be respectful and obedient to elders and those in position of authority.

DISCUSSION

We have tried for years to get people to vote. We have knocked on thousands of doors we have talked to thousands of people. I coined the term Never-Voter so that we know who we are talking to and what we're talking about. Those of us who vote have carried you and your family for years. We want this election to be different we want you to go vote. The political power of the Tejano (Latino) is diluted because of too many Never-Voters. 

Never-Voters have conjured every excuse for not voting. Not voting would not be a problem if there were no consequences. Elections have enormous consequences. We can witness the consequences right now.

Of all the consequences that we can endure, there is one that is more serious. There are school districts in Texas where almost 100% of all students graduate from high school. In the urban school districts the number fluctuates according to the data released by the State of Texas. It could be as high it's 50% dropout. There is an expression that we use to describe prison enrollment. We call it the “school to prison pipeline.”

50% is a big number. Amongst the 50% include the family left without a financial supporter, children left without a parent, children without a role model, children more likely to drop out of school, children more likely to get into a life of crime, and children more likely to follow in the parents footsteps.

This should answer the question of Never-Voter who wanted to know why he should vote.

We must understand the American political system.

Voters have always been the Voice of America. We send politicians to Austin and Washington to represent us and represent our views.

There is an election going on right now. In elections, votes are counted. The person or topic that has the most votes wins. If you are a Never-Voter The condition of the economy, the war in Iran, Immigration and the brutality of ICE, and someone obstructing the access to the voting place making it difficult for you to vote; These are issues that should concern you.

There is something called the Robin Hood Plan. The Robin Hood Plan is taking money from wealthy school districts and giving it to the  impoverished school districts. The wealthy school districts object. What is forgotten by wealthy school districts is that it was that 5-year-old Brown Boy picking cotton that made them wealthy.

Public education

The keyword in public education is the word public. We are the public.

Schools are not factories that produce children to benefit the state. The curriculum in education is what somebody else decides what is best for your child. The power of parent as a mentor is removed.

Charter schools are for profit educational institutions. How are we supposed to believe that charter schools can provide a better education with less money the public schools.

Education is not a competitive sport. Numbers make it a competitive sport.  Somehow, we are supposed to believe that Tejano children in a district with limited resources can perform as well as a district that has unlimited resources. Like a district that can afford to pay $50 million for a football stadium.

A thing about the past

There are many of us they carry the Spanish last name. There are many that have Anglicized the Spanish last name. Some have roots in the Spanish Colonial Period. There are many recent arrivals from Central and South America and even Spain itself. The historical past is of no significance to determine who we are. The history is not going to change. Those people that were killed or murdered they're not going to come back alive.

There are those that want to talk about Aztlan, some Mexico, others the Texas Rangers. The historical past is not going to help formulate the future. We are like a picture puzzle. One piece does not the puzzle make. We carry scars from all over.

The individual geographical histories of Latinos are too many to record. You can talk all you want to about how bad things were in the past, but nothing is going to change. What needs to change is Never-Voters trekking to the ballot box to vote. That is the intent of this article.

The countryside is littered with atrocities committed by Whites. They are not going to change the atrocities.

I personally do not like word Hispanic because it was adopted easily as a substitute for “Mexican.” Many were harassed and tortured when they identified themselves as “Mexican.” To avoid this embarrassment some people started using the word Hispanic instead of Mexican. Many of us have Mexican heritage and we should be proud of that there is no need to disparage the word Mexican just because some people want to harass us.

Unity

We in Texas have set a poor record on unity. Henry B Gonzalez Cesar Chavez and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) have been poor leaders. In Texas the only remnant of the Chicano Movement are the Lowriders. Wouldn't it be too diverse to unite as one, but we can still work together.

About Me

I would like to explain why I am uniquely qualified to be critical of education in Texas. I have considerable  experience with education. My journey as an educator started in the Air Force. I had to train technical school graduates to become fully qualified aircraft technicians.

If I learned anything in the military, it is that a college degree does not always make you smarter or wiser.

In the Air Force, I learned that numbers matter. I was a navigation system technician in the C130E cargo airplane. A system that failed regularly. Airplanes were scheduled to fly. If 15 were scheduled, 15 were expected to fly. If 15 did not fly, someone had to come up with an explanation as to why not. If aircraft consistently failed to fly the number that were scheduled, there was a problem.

In my first assignment to Forbes Air Force Base Kansas, I learned what happens when you abort too many flights. Unexpectedly, I was transferred from one squadron to another because my squadron was flying clean the other one dirty. Dirty meaning that it had too many problems. You practice in peacetime what you do in wartime. For cargo airplanes it is to deliver supplies to troops in the front line. It can become a matter of life or death. Numbers are used to determine effectiveness and success.

The same principle applies in education. Numbers determine how successful you are in providing the children a quality education. There's an old saying that goes something like “Figures do not lie.  liars figure.” Never-Voters who think that voting is a joke.

I remember Bishop Flores and Father Virgilio Elizondo; how strong they were in fighting for the American dream.

The only good numbers are other numbers given to students by teachers in the report cards.

Historically, the state of Texas has not been a good purveyor of public education for all.

We do not live in the world anymore where anyone has the right to deny anyone access to a quality education.

Hola Texas disclaimer (Please note this article is the sole creation of Mr. felix Alvarado)