A Hidden Failure of Our Society: Loss Opportunities of The Young

One of the great failures of the recession has been the creation of a cohort of people that are doomed to a lifetime of lost opportunities.  Failures of the financial sector, the loose policies that caused the housing market, and the reluctance of Congress to address this problem through sound fiscal policies have left about a million people age 16-24 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.  Wandering in a political and fiscal “limbo” where, most likely, none of them will ever recover.  This is the loss of opportunities I see in many young people; sons and daughters of friends, nephews and nieces, a large portion of that generation and we are pulling the “rug” from under their feet!

So, who are the unemployed? More than half of unemployed workers (53.7%) are age 25-54. But another  30 % are under age 25 (see chart below).   The large decline in employment among young people in the last 5 years, means that there has been a large increase in the number of young people who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.  This is probably because people have either been forced to drop out of school, or never enter, either because a they could not afford it due to lack of work or because their parents were unable to help them pay for school due to their own income or wealth losses during the recession and the result of lower paying jobs or lack of full employment.  In either case, this is a terrible loss.

Unfortunately, many of these young people are not aware that their futures are being constrained.  Some of them have given up or never had a chance to chase their interest or the opportunity they saw in front of them.  If a mind is a terrible thing to waste, what does that say about having them waste the opportunity of their lifetime?

Source: H Shierholz Economic Policy Institute

A Hidden Failure of Our Society: Loss Opportunities of The Young

One of the great failures of the recession has been to creation of a cohort of people that are doomed to a lifetime of lost opportunities.  Failures of the financial sector, the loose policies that caused the housing market, and the reluctance of Congress to address this problem through sound fiscal policies have left about a million people age 16-24 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.  Wandering in a political and fiscal “limbo” where, most likely, none of them will ever recover.  This is the loss of opportunities I see in many young people; sons and daughters of friends, nephews and nieces, a large portion of that generation and we are pulling the “rug” from under their feet!

So, who are the unemployed? More than half of unemployed workers (53.7%) are age 25-54. But another  30 % are under age 25 (see chart below).   The large decline in employment among young people in the last 5 years, means that there has been a large increase in the number of young people who are neither enrolled in school nor employed.  This is probably because people been forced to drop out of school, or never enter, either because a they could not afford it due to lack of work or because their parents were unable to help them pay for school due to their own income or wealth
losses during the recession and the result of lower paying jobs or lack of full employment.  In either case, this is a terrible loss.

source: Economic Policy Institute

Social Power and the Future of Democracy

The editorial by E.J. Dionne Jr. in Sunday’s Washington Post, “Political dysfunction spells trouble for democracies” set me thinking about the basic factors that might be causing this situation.  As I contemplated this, on Monday, May 20^th David Brooks wrote an editorial in the New York Times, “What Our Words Tell Us.”  SO what do these two editorials have in common?  Everything!  And, they shed light on the decline of our social, economic, and political support networks.

Brooks’ editorial dealt with the use of the new database of 5.2 million books published between 1500 and 2008, and some of the research that has been done on the use of words.   Several sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other social scientists have been using the database to explore the use of phrases and words over the last several hundred years.  They looked into the frequency of words and phrases like “personalized,” “self,” “standout,” “unique,” “I come first” and “I can do it myself,”  words that relate to “it’s all about me” and they also looked into the frequency of use of phrases and words that relate to social groupings and social interaction like  “community,” “collective,” “tribe,” “share,” “united,” “band together” and “common good”  and the usage of words that imply selflessness, humility, appreciation and protection like “bravery” and “fortitude” “thankfulness” and “appreciation,”   “modesty” and “humbleness” “kindness” and “helpfulness.”   Other people looked into phrases and words like “discipline” and “dependability” “run the country,” “economic justice,” “nationalism,” “priorities,” “right-wing” and “left-wing”  that imply that politics, government and militarism have become more prevalent.

Although I have not studied the specific results, Brooks did summarize some interesting trends:  In the last 50 years or so, the literature reflects a more individualistic society and less social and communal.  I also infer that the literature reflects a more militaristic attitude, and by further implication, less trusting and more confrontational.

All this brought up to the surface of my conscious, long repressed academic interest I harbored while attending Stanford; the study of socio-economic and political transformations using systems theory.  It turns out that one can model the evolution of these groups where the eigenvalues of the transformation matrices reflect the direction of social, economic or political state.  A quick look into the current literature on this work turns out several interesting findings.  It turns out that this fellow, Bonacich, developed a relationship (1987) that suggested a useful way of modeling questions of social relationships and social “power” of individuals or groups.   The general form of the relationship is simple

c_i(α,β) = Σ (α – βc_j ) *R_i,j

(the equation really doesn’t matter, I just put it in here to show myself that I have not forgotten some of my mathematical training).  The point is, that it provides a way of describing individual and group relations  by showing which are in tension, or when competition, bargaining, struggle, and negotiation predominate, and where powerful contacts are constraining and disadvantageous.  The point is the key factor, β, that relates (in an indirect way) to the eigenvalue of a transformation matrix.  It illustrates that individuals and communities that share information (and resources) have higher collective “social power” and people and individuals who do not share, the “social power” concentrates in a few and many become less influential.

So, what does all this gobbledygook mean and what does this have to do with the two articles by Brooks and Dionne?  Well, I’m not sure.  But to me it means that Dionne is right, and the research of the Google database hints at why.  We are fragmenting ourselves as a society and “social power” to influence and control society is being focused on a few powerful individuals and/or organizations.  That is a very sad state of a Democracy indeed.

One does not have to go far to see these effects, I see them in my own family, this “me” mentality has overwhelmed the “family” mentality.  Societal issues do not seem to matter, There is no passionate involvement in social decision making, little interests in voting or participation in politics, low support (or at least not passionate support) for unions, public education, and in general, public sector support mechanisms.  Local newspapers (in our case the like the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, but it seems to be the same all over the country) do not cover or do not want to cover societal issues, and when they do it is not an objective report, but reflecting the ownership of the paper’s owners.  Instead, local papers concentrate on sensationalism.  This not only keeps the public ignorant and at best ill informed.  I see it in my co-workers.  All this fragmentation of family and society, loss of collective approach to social and economic problems, leads to political dysfunction and the establishments of centers of social power and influence concentrated in a few.

E.J. Dionne Jr.  is correct, “Political dysfunction spells trouble for democracies,” and in particular, our democracy.  

The Older Worker Dilemma

The realization of retirement is beginning to creep in my conscious, and frankly I can’t see myself “retired.”   Retirement means different things to different people.  I speak to some of my co-workers and the majority have retirement plans that includes moving to Florida and playing golf everyday – BORING!   The last thing I think about is moving to Florida – heat, humidity, bugs, old people with sagging ultra tanned skin and dressed in prints and colors that are at least two standard deviations away from the social norm!  No, I don’t want to be associated with “those people.”  Playing golf?  What a useless way to kill time.  It would be a good exercise to keep yourself in shape if you didn’t have a golf cart full of beer, wine and other assorted goodies.   There has to be better things to do than to go to Florida and play golf!

My wife is paranoid about coming into retirement age, although for her, retirement is still several years away.  Her main concern is:  What if I lose my job?  What if I lose my insurance?  How are we going to pay for our last son’s college?  How are we going to be able to afford our lifestyle?   What!?  What lifestyle?  Going to work every day and not even having time for a decent vacation?  It’s not like we would be thrown into pauperville, our small pensions and social security, no matter how many cuts the Republicans in Congress want to make to it, is enough for a modest but decent lifestyle.  If she loses her job, hey, that’s great we get to do a little travelling, who knows, maybe learn how to freeload off our kids, it’s not like we didn’t support them as they were growing up.  I think her real fear, the fear of many older people that have lost much of their pensions in this recession; to be left without a means of support.

But what if you don’t want to retire?  Or worst yet, be close or at an age of retirement and are laid off from your job?  Although the unemployment rate is still very high, for a younger person, that is not much of a problem.  You might have to hustle, be short of cash for a short time, might have to move to a different location, maybe get a little extra training, but overall the chances of finding a new job are pretty good.  Older people, on the other hand have a harder time of finding meaningful employment.  The standard joke is that we can always be a Wal Mart greeter (although I think those jobs no longer exist).   Last year we had a 71 year-old laid off.   His main concern is that he did not know what to do with himself, his job was his life.  He was devastated and at the same time delusional that his services were essential to the continuation of the functions of the office.  It is a sad case when you have the resources to retire and be in total fear of being at home with nothing to do.

Rejection is one of the worst emotions that a person can feel, and rejection from your job at that age can be devastating, because most companies, although claiming “fair human resources policies” want to invest in younger more trainable people and will look for any reason and any justification to get rid of older people.  I think the real problem and my real fear is when 45 to 65 year olds who get laid off, especially if they have limited or very specialized skills.  Many older workers who get laid off use up their retirement savings in less than three years, and most Americans’ have no confidence in their ability to retire. Worse, women who entered the workforce after raising a family do not build up their social security benefits to a point where their social security and any pension they may have build would not be enough to live on.   "A worker between ages 50 and 61 who has been unemployed for 17 months has only about a 9 percent chance of finding a new job… ” wrote economists Dean Baker and Kevin Hassett noted in a New York Times op-ed piece last spring.   “A worker who is 62 or older and in the same situation has only about a 6 percent chance. As unemployment increases in duration, these slim chances drop steadily."

A friend of mine just got laid off from General Motors, I’m certain he is the test case for companies taking advantage of the new Michigan Right to Work Law, a misnomer if there ever was one.  It should have been called “The Employer’s Right to get Rid of People Without any Repercussions Law.”  Although he is optimistic, and he should be since he has some very marketable skills, his age will be a great barrier that he must overcome.  More recently however, a coworker lost her job due to the sequestration of government funds.  I was panicked trying to figure out some alternatives.  In her case, although she meets the age of people who find it hard to find a job, her story might have a happy ending:  a combination of marketable skills, good network of friends and a new employer who is willing to take a risk on her rather than an untested recent college graduate.  The pay might not be the greatest, but I’m glad the new Michigan law is not having the repression in salaries as Lawmakers in Lansing who pushed this law had hoped.

Life Could be a Dream

I can’t say I am much of an event participant.   I like to go to shows once in a while, but I am also a little bit on the cheap side and the current admission prices limit what I do.  I see all my family and friends “live” to go see concerts of their favorite singers.  They brave waiting in line for hours on end and will save every penny, lie, cheat and steal to get the best tickets for some of these events.   My friends and family like all types of shows from Punk Rock to Opera and everything in between.  I have one set of friends who will drive over 300 miles to go to an Opera, and it was not a onetime deal, they do it on a regular basis. 

I enjoy the symphony once in a while and I did wait in line to buy tickets and thoroughly enjoyed an Elton John concert.  I also enjoyed a concert by Juan Gabriel in el Palenque in Mexico; Like the Elton John concert; those were unique events in my life.  My good friends in Mexico City (Ricardo and Itziar) used to take me to the Café Opera, a place where professional singers, not currently doing a show, would go and “practice” and entertain guests – a great place to go on Thursday and Friday evenings if you are ever in Mexico City. 

But the play I attended this weekend was by far one of the most enjoyable and emotional experiences I have had in a very long time.   It wasn’t the acting.  Although they were all professional actors with lots of experience, the plot did not lend itself to “Academy Award” acting.  It wasn’t the plot(s).  One of the subplots was a simple one:  Girl meets boy, boy from the wrong part of town, parents separate them, and they get together in the end and live happily ever after.  Not even the main plot was that earth moving:  Three recent high school graduates with no skills and no future, trying to make something out of themselves in life.   No, what made this play memorable was the time period the play takes place, early 1960s; how they were going to make it in life, form a doo-wop singing quartet and the terrific songs from the late 50s early 60s they were able to execute with the original sound!

The theater became a time machine for people my age who were in their teen years during that period;  when a big portion in the formation of your psychic was the music of that period, the play takes you back to your teenage formative years and the memories of coming of age floods your brain and you completely relive those years.  Many parts of the story are about the things teenagers used to dream of doing, and some actually did - become famous and successful as a singing group.   A period when one was emotionally and socially lost in the world and were willing to try just about any path life would take you with no inhibitions.  A period just before the social and sexual revolution of the mid sixties when social barriers began to break and everything seemed possible.  That was the period that people my age were transformed back to by this Play. 

The Play, of course, is “Life Could be a Dream” a 1960s doo-wop musical.  It is the story of the Crooning Crabcakes, who try to find their fame and fortune by entering a radio talent contest.  There doesn’t seem to be any deep meaning to this story other than the moral “follow your heart.”    It features a great number of classic late 50s and early 60s songs such as "Stay,"," "Runaround Sue," "The Great Pretender," "Tears On My Pillow," "Unchained Melody," "Earth Angel" and 23 others, all executed with the original feeling.  I don’t know if “you really had to be there” to enjoy this play, but it was great.

Here are a couple of original versions of the songs sang in the play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR_ds7ZF8Xg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awc2iZURXc4

Finding One’s Passion

I went to a dinner theater put on by the Romeo High School.  It was a murder mystery written and performed by high school students.  The students did a great job.  It was clear that they were all very talented and they were enjoying and performing their roles with such passion that you knew they were in their natural element.  I am sure some of them will follow careers in acting and will be happy and successful.  It’s nice to see young people with such passion for life and careers; they seem to know what they are good at and I hope they continue to develop the interests and skills to pursue the passion of their life.

I have been reflecting on that thought in the last few days and to the question:  How many people are following their life’s passions and how many people go through life doing things because they have to and not because they like it?  Without knowing about the “passions” of my coworkers, I would guess that the percentage of them with a real passion for what they do is very small.

This issue of the pursuit of life’s passions seems to be popular theme these days.  An article in the Washington Post quoted the Pope as saying “Men and women of the church who are careerists, social climbers, who use the people, the church, brothers and sisters — those they should serve — as a springboard for their own ambitions and personal interests do great damage to the church.”  In other words he was saying:  If serving others is not your passion, you do not belong in the church.  A story on NPR discussed the Texas Governor’s interests in turning Texas A&M and the University of Texas into profit making corporations and eliminating the free-thinking academic activity – this will not only restrict what passions can be pursued, It will not allow people to discover them!  The third story I heard is about a fellow trying to figure out what his passion was.  So, I started asking:  Did I pursue my passion?  I guess from a psychological point of view, my thoughts on this topic must be driven by some reason, doubt or question:  Did I pursue my passion in life?

Maybe I should have put more attention to a disagreement I had with my first supervisor, Duane Deonigi, shortly after I left Stanford and joined the Battelle Northwest Laboratories as a Research Scientist.  There were a few people whom I admired at Battelle and Duane was one of them.  Anyway, the confrontation with Duane was about the new business cards.  He made the mistake of asking me what title I wanted on my business card.  The answer was simple; Research Scientist.  But I thought about it for a few minutes and sent my title in as “Generalist Extraordinaire.”  Well that went over like a fart in church during silent prayer.  This impasse lasted several weeks (and probably would have gotten me fired).  My new coworkers thought I was being stubborn and irrational, but deep down, in a subconscious level, I knew that although I had the skills and training to be a good Research Scientist, it was simply not in my genetic make-up.

One would think that having pursued an Electrical Engineering degree, a Master’s in System Engineering and a PhD program in Economic Systems, I would have had a clear understanding of my life’s career passion.  Most of my classmates seemed to be very passionate about their studies.  I was also, but in retrospect I was more passionate about demonstrating that I could do as good or better as any of them and less about the topics themselves.  That is not to say that I didn’t understand Economic and system theory and its applications to national and international policy, it simply did not put me on “fire.”  I went to Stanford because of an overwhelming interest to learn about quantitative analysis of economic and political systems, but I left there not knowing if I was pursuing my passion in life.

It never crossed my mind that I might not have a true passion.  Was my passion to be rich?  No, I didn’t care about being rich.  Was it to be a champion for a cause?  Maybe, but once I analyzed a cause and saw a solution and I was convinced a solution existed, it was no longer a cause for me.  My Stanford experience, although very good, demonstrated that I did not have the passion for research and advancing the frontiers of science in minute baby steps, but I did enjoy solving problems.  Coming from a poor family, one would thing that one of my passions might have been to achieve higher social status.  But no, I never saw myself as a member of the “elite.”  Similarly, I was never interested in fame and fortune.  The only thing I knew is that I wanted to and needed to be challenged and I liked working in the background. 

This brings me back to the confrontation with Duane over the business card title.  I think Duane knew what my passion was, but he didn’t tell me, he let me follow it until I found out for myself.  He teamed me up on some projects with another very senior well respected scientist at the Laboratory, It wasn’t until much later that I learned this fellow was a “giant” at the Laboratory, very smart and well respected.  I naively follow his lead and in doing so I learned a lot from him, although I did not know at the time what I was learning.  We travelled to Washington several times on “our” tasks, but now I think the purpose of these trips was really to “evaluate” me.  Sometime later, about six months after I joined Battelle, Duane came up to me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  They would sponsor me for six months in Washington to work on whatever I wanted.  Actually, I did have a small policy analysis task but that was only a seed activity to get me there.    His only guidance was to just try to identify and solve problems and keep in mind that we have the resources at the Laboratory.  He never mentioned the term “business development.”

It was a scary proposal, but being too ignorant and inexperienced, I took it and off to Washington I went with my wife and two kids.  For the next five years I got to work with Directors, Assistant Secretaries and the Secretary of Energy, as well as with Congressional Committees, (I even met the President at a dinner).  I got involved in helping to set energy policy, define technology research programs, develop research budgets and in the process send a lot of research work (and hundreds of millions of dollars) to the Laboratory.  It wasn’t until many years later, after I had left Battelle and was working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, did it begin to dawn on me what my passion was and what Duane actually saw in me many years earlier.  My passion, my interest and what seem to be my “talent” was to listen to clients describe their complex problems, define the research program and put the interdisciplinary teams of scientist and engineers to solve them. 

After I realized what my passion was, I learned to trust my instincts and let my passion pull me along into many interesting projects.  I carried this passion to solve problems with the Air Force, with foreign governments, with private industry, with city and state organizations.  The work carried me to all parts of the world and to many different technologies from uses of inorganic membranes, to optimization of energy use in buildings, to optimal cleanup standards of hydrocarbon contamination to minimize health impacts and many more.  Every day brought new challenges, new people, and new excitement.

I look back now at commencement speeches, and always thought they were just fillers in the pomp and circumstance of a graduating ceremony agenda.  But I have looked at the main themes of commencement speeches and in retrospect; some of those speakers had a point.  I, like 99% of the graduating class, were not tuned to what is being said by those speakers. But themes such as “Find and Pursue Your Passion,”  “Get Better at Trusting Yourself and Learn to Be Bold,”  “Do Not Let Others Define Who You Are,” and “Take Initiative and Get in the Game” actually make some sense.  But people can’t tell you what your passion is; you have to find it yourself. 

The Case of the Extra Weight

Spring is here and in the spirit of rite of annual renewal I got me two new shorts and some T-shirts.  I could have still squeezed into the old ones but they are not only getting a little faded and raggedy, they were also al little tight.  These new ones were a little bigger than I normally buy, but they looked great.   I put them on and either my body has changed or they are cutting these patterns short to save money.   First of all, the waist of the shorts do not go up to what I consider my waist and when I try to pull them up to a “normal” position, certain “parts” of my body get squeezed that should not be squeezed – very uncomfortable – and, then I sit the back rides up and the front is forced down and my underwear is shifted in the same direction that every time I stand up I end up with a permanent wedgie. 

But those were the least of my problems.  I put on my new T-shirt and tucked it into my shorts and went out to get the feel of my new duds.  I was feeling OK  (except of the wedgie), the outfit had adjusted to my body with a slight extra width and they actually felt pretty comfortable working and doing things around the house.   I came in to use the bathroom and saw my profile on the bathroom mirror.   Who in this hell was this alien body impersonating me in my new clothes?   I drew a flashback to a few years ago when we went to Miami Beach for a week in February.  There was this elderly couple from New York City sitting around the pool.  The man was way over weight and the woman was way over-wrinkled, I mean, skin (very nicely tanned of course) was sagging everywhere over the tight top of her bikini (BIKINI!) bathing suit and hanging over her hips, under her legs and from the back of her arms.  Her neck and chin were tucked in nice and tight.  The man was wearing Speedos! And when he got up to walk around , you could not see the Speedo bathing suit  from the flaps of skin and fat hanging over the bathing suit and the edge of the bottoms disappeared into the fat and skin of his legs – not a pretty sight.   This New York couple were not the only case of a body gone wild.  There were sunbathers with extra body “tone” hanging over the sides and out the bottoms of their swimsuits.  The image of Meijer deli rotisserie chickens came to mind as I watch bloated bellies of old people rolled on their blankets on the beach. The jellied sagging breasts and jiggling thighs (nicely sun tanned, of course) with the texture of greasy pork skin after it has been roasted on an open pit.   The flashback of these images made me realize that I had to do something and getting different shorts was not it.  That image looking back at me from my bathroom mirror made me realize that I had let myself go  and needed to tone up!.

But how to do it!  Dieting requires the will power and dedication that I don’t have and will have to develop.  Liposuction came to mind, but it is too expensive.   No,  I just have to find the will power and dedication to make it happen.   I decided to cut the amount I eat and get in some walking for exercise.  Cutting back on food should not be too hard since I’m really never hungry.  Unfortunately I’m one of those people who do not “feel” hunger.   I eat because it is time to eat, or because I make a meal for my son or because we go out to eat in a restaurant.  My challenge is to be able to cook like I like to do and don’t eat too much of what I cook.  Of course, there is one thing I will never cut out, a late night snack.  Any sweet thing will do but I love hot peanut butter tacos and will refuse to give them up!  Of course, the images of the Miami scene may change my mind.  My motivation and the reason for mustering the will power to carry this fitness campaign is not too look like the New York couple, and when I go to the beach, I want to able to see my Speedos (if I buy some) and not have them covered by overhanging fat.

As for the exercise, I have been walking in the morning at a 3.5 mi/hr pace.  I take the dog with me and he merrily starts at the same pace but I have to practically pull him the last several hundred feet .   I started with a distance of 1.5 miles and plan to work myself up to 3 miles every morning.  It feels good!

Is It Margarita Day again?

This is a story I wrote for the Detroit Free Press in 2008.  I thought it would still be appropriate.  Enjoy!

The Cinco de Mayo celebration has become so popular in the U.S. and has become a marketing tool for many restaurants and establishments of spirits.  I have witnessed, and must admit participated in, unabashed celebration trying to capture an unclear and undefined glory of Mexican heroes of years past.  Many of my friends are party hounds, and I am totally amused by their attempts to make up the lyrics to songs like Cielito Lindo, La Cucaracha and El Rancho Grande, while at the same time trying to consume Margaritas faster than the person sitting next to them. 

What is Cinco de Mayo?  Is it someone’s excuse to have a party (and sell margaritas) in early spring when there just doesn’t seem to be any other holiday for an excuse?  At 49 days after Saint Patrick's Day, it’s the right amount of time for people to forget the after-effects of Saint Patrick’s Day drinking.  For many people, this is probably the case; however, I hope for some the basis for this celebration includes some real feelings for what the date signifies in Mexican history.

To me, Cinco de Mayo represents the beginning of the end for foreign occupation in Mexico.  After 340 years of foreign occupation and intervention that started with the Spanish in 1521, the French were defeated in the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.  That battle started the war that ended May 15, 1867, when Maximillian, the Austrian monarch supported by the French to be the Emperor of Mexico, surrendered.

However, to really appreciate the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo, we must understand the suffering that Mexico had endured during the period of occupation.  It is estimated that the Spanish, during the 1520's, caused the death of 19 million native Mexicans.   We revolt at the atrocities of the Nazis; however, three times more native Mexicans died (in about the same period of time) than Jews murdered by the Nazis 420 years later.  During the Spanish occupation, those Mexicans who had survived lived in virtual slavery while the country was raped of its resources and left in bankruptcy. 

Spain's iron grip began to deteriorate in the mid 1700's.  Real resistance began to surface during the reign of the third Bourbon King of Spain, Charles III.  The Bourbon reforms revised the colonial government and economic structure, and a new concept of society was introduced, commerce and business, that began to change the structure of Mexican society.  The revolutions of France, Haiti and the United States gave rise to revolutionary thinking in Mexico and in September 16, 1810, a priest from the city of Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, began the revolution for independence against Spain.  The war for independence continued until September 27, 1821, when the treaty of Córdova was signed that recognized Mexican independence under the terms of the Plan of Iguala, which established a constitutional monarchy.  This monarchy lasted for a little over a year when, on December 1, 1822,  Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana Peréz de Labrón, rose against the monarchy and proclaimed the republic.  In 1824, the Constitutional Congress established the constitution that formed the United Mexican States (the official name of Mexico).  Nicolas Bravo succeeded the first President, Guadalupe Victoria, in 1827.  The third President, Vicente Guerrero, is responsible for the abolition of slavery in 1829, and that same year, Santa Ana finally succeeded in expelling all the Spanish troops from Mexican territory. 

Twenty years of war had left Mexico economically weak; however, the process begun a new organization of the county.  In an attempt to bring government control to the northern regions, Mexico placed restrictions on immigration and prohibited slavery.  This caused the Americans living in Texas to declare independence in 1835 and join the U.S. in 1836.  However, the young, ambitious U.S. wanted more land and resources, as a result, the Mexican-American war began in 1840.  By 1848 more than half of the land that once belonged to Mexico, the current southwest had become part of the U.S.

By the time the land was lost to the U.S., the Mexican effort to keep foreigners out was not over yet.  Early in the 1850's a move was begun to moralize Mexican politics.  In the Mexican version of the French revolution against feudalism and privileges, the Reform Laws that abolished inequalities and put controls on the church were established.  Juárez won the presidency, and with a bankrupt country, declared a moratorium on all foreign debt payments.  The French, Spanish, and British were angered with the moratorium and, in October 1861, sent a united military expedition to occupy Mexico and get paid. 

After deliberations and a better understanding of the situation, the British and Spaniards recalled their men.  The French, however, decided to implement their real plan, which was to take over Mexico.  The French probably believed that after 50 years of fighting, Mexico would be war-weary.  President Juárez sent General Ignacio Zaragoza and his troops to fight the French, and in the City of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, Zaragoza's army defeated the foreigners.  Hence, the celebration of Cinco de Mayo was born.  The war continued for five years,  and during that time the French sent Emperor Fernindad Maximillian Joseph of Austria to rule over Mexico.  The Mexicans did not want a foreigner governing them.  On May 15, 1867 Maximillian surrendered.  He was tried and then executed on June 19, 1867.  There has been no foreign occupation of Mexico since.  At least I thought that had been no foreign occupation until a friend informed me that Americans and Europeans are retiring down there by the thousands and are populating all the resort areas.  But, I guess this doesn’t count as politically motivated occupation.

So, as I sit there having a few margaritas with my friends, I wonder if they get the same chills just to think of all that history.  I smile listening to their attempt to sing Mexican songs, I put the glass to my lips silently toast those defenders of long ago and wondered how I would have sounded speaking French.