“Funny you ask that, actually, to me, because my mind doesn’t think about that, about what good we’ve done. Because I’m looking right now and all that has to be done, that needs to be done, that should be done. And I’ve never really considered what have we done. In the first place, I learned in some years, after all this I learned, that I was just a small boat with the tide… When I was telling you about kidding myself about how great I was, that’s what I meant: That there was a tide… None of us are by ourselves.”
According to the 2011 U.S. Census, persons identifying as Hispanic or of Latino Origin make up 16.7% of the population of the United States. While this does reflect a minority position, there are several states in the Southwest (California, Arizona, Texas, etc.) in which the population ratio of Hispanics or persons of Latino Origin is more than twice that of the national ratio. Some 40% of a population deserves to be represented, and, as our interviewers have indicated, change all starts with education and voting. The two are mutually exclusive of one another, but in this instance, are dependent upon one another for the betterment of a people.
The Latino vote is one that is more than capable of swinging what figures to be a close election. In 2012, had the Latino community not turned out as it did, there is a good chance Mitt Romney would be the president. This goes to show that getting out and voting can directly affect the outcome of an election up to and including the presidential election.
¡Viva La Raza! 