Massive illegal immigration from Mexico into California; Victor Davis Hanson writes; "coupled with a loss of confidence in the old melting pot model of transforming newcomers into Americans; is changing the very nature of state. Yet we Californians have been inadequate in meeting this challenge; both failing to control our borders with Mexico and to integrate the new alien population into our mainstream." Part history; part political analysis; and part memoir; "Mexifornia" is an intensely personal work by one of our most important writers. Hanson is perhaps known best for his military histories and especially his social commentary about America and its response to terror after 9/11. But he is also a fifth-generation Californian who runs a family farm in the Central Valley and has written eloquent elegies for the decline of the small farm such as "Fields Without Dreams" and "The Land Was Everything." Like these books; "Mexifornia" is an intensely personal look at what has changed in California over the last quarter century. In this case; however; Hanson's focus is on how not only California; the Southwest; and indeed the entire nation has been affected by America's hemorrhaging borders and how those hurt worst are the Mexican immigrants themselves. A large part of the problem; Hanson believes; comes from the opportunistic coalition that stymies immigration reform and; even worse; stifles an honest discussion of a growing problem. Conservative corporations; contractors; and agribusiness demand cheap wage labor from Mexico; whatever the social consequences. Meanwhile; "progressive" academics; journalists; government bureaucrats; and La Raza advocates envision illegal aliens as a vast new political constituency for those committed to the notion that victimhood; not citizenship; is the key to advancement. The problems Hanson identifies may have reached critical mass in California; but they affect Americans who inhabit "Mexizona;" "Mexichusetts" and other states of becoming. Hanson writes wistfully about his own growing up in the Central Valley when he was one of a handful of non-Hispanics in his elementary school and when his teachers saw it as their mission to give all students; Hispanic and "white" alike; a passport to the American Dream. He follows the fortunes of Hispanic friends he has known all his life--how they have succeeded in America and how they regard the immigration crisis. But if "Mexifornia" is emotionally generous at the strength and durability of the groups that have made California strong; it is also an indictment of the policies that got California into its present mess. But in the end; Hanson strongly believes that our traditions of assimilation; integration; and intermarriage may yet remedy a problem that the politicians and ideologues have allowed to get out of hand.
#815854 in Books imusti 2016-09-30 2016-09-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.00 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 1591432650528 pagesBear Company
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. As Far as It Goes; an Excellent TreatmentBy Jack SheaI found this book to be an excellent update on the subject of discovering the historical reality underlying Plato's tales of Atlantis. The author discusses extensively the evidence for pre-Platonic contact between the mariners of the Mediterranean and the Western Hemisphere. Likewise; he examines carefully the religions and stories of Mesoamerican cultures relating to contact with travelers from Caribbean islands. Considering also the known histories of indigenous Caribbean and Bahamian peoples discovered by the Spanish explorers; there is much evidence presented that the location of legendary Atlantis lies somewhere in the Greater Antilles or Bahama Bank; rather than in the Mediterranean.Dismissed as less likely locations for the fabled city and culture are the mid-Atlantic Azores and the recently discovered piles of stone in the Yucatan Channel west of Cuba--mostly because of the depth of the surrounding seabeds. For this and other reasons; the author clearly favors western Cuba; including the area now under water between the main island and the Isle of Youth/Pines; as the most likely locus of ancient Atlantis.To be honest; I would have liked to see more discussion of the possible connection between Atlantis and such Mediterranean cultures as Minoan Crete; Egypt and Mycenian Greece. There is essentially no discussion of Plato's assertion of a major war between Atlantis and Athens. How could a culture that suffered a serious catastrophe in 10;600 BCE (or even its remnants) have posed an existential threat to a culture that is not likely older than 2000 BCE. Perhaps a clue can be found in the fresco of a Minoan "prince;" whose appearance; especially his headdress; strongly suggests that of Mayan king. A naval clash between Minoan and Athenian armadas; perhaps over trading rights; does not seem outside the realm of possibility. (The naval war between England and the Netherlands in the 17th century CE comes to mind as a parallel.) Note that I'm not suggesting that either Crete or Thera were Atlantis; but only that they may have had some cultural inheritance from that possibly antediluvian polity; including an orientation toward long-distance seafaring.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. A Great Piece of Intellectual Atlantean "Chew Food"By William R. HancockExcellent book. This is actually a revised update of Collin's earlier book; "Gateway To Atlantis"; which I found totally engrossing several years ago. The update incorporates a lot of data from the late German scientist Otto Muck's ("The Secret Of Atlantis") research into the crashing of a huge comet or breaking-up planetoid into the earth's atmosphere 12;000 years ago (leaving the remarkable; elliptical Carolina Bay" formations along the SE U.S. coast) and catastrophically blasting the geological Atlantis to smithereens as well as rising havoc with the sea levels all around the world (and inspiring all the world-wide Universal Flood legends). Collins focuses on the Caribbean area but I have to think you cannot rule out the Amphere seamount locations as well (the Azores and Canary Islands BEG to be included in Atlantology). Collins demolishes the hokum of the "Bimini Road" area being "natural beach rock" as well and points to similar breakwater structures in the Mediterranean long pre-dating the Romans. This book is a SERIOUS antidote to the rear-guard "save the Mediterranean" paradigm as an Atlantean "explanation" (the old Thera/Santorini humbug) whereby writers like Gavin Menzies and others bend over backwards and sideways to try and "transform" the MINOANS into the "real" Atlanteans (which requires you to believe the ancient Egyptians were idiots and couldn't tell east from west or that they were CLUELESS that the Med opened into a larger outer sea). I'd find this insulting if I were an ancient Egyptian. I would also ask....pointedly....if the Atlanteans were based on the Minoans Mispercieved; why was no Minoan mythology incorporated into the Atlantean "myths". Mythology is ASSIMILATED; the Biblical Noah stories go back earlier to Sumerians and such. Why; then; is Minos not named a king of Atlantis? Why no sacrificing of captive youths to the Minotaur? Why isn't the killing of the Minotaur by Theseus not included in Atlantis mythology? I would suggest because the ancient Mediterraneans knew full well that the so-called "Minoans" and the Atlanteans were two different things altogether. That's my two cents; but Collins does a damn good job of reconstructing the past on his own. Recommended.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. More pieces for the Atlantis jigsaw puzzle.By Michael FA cogent argument for the Caribbean area.Certainly to have been at least part of the Atlantean empire of the Atlantic.He describes some good discoveries and the old legends and writings he brings up point in that direction.Well worth adding to your collection of Atlantis lore.
