When I first read your editorial, “Conquest questions” (Dec. 26), I thought that you were referring to the conquest of Mexico by the U.S.
Only after reading the dates did I realize that you were referring to the earlier conquest of Mexico by Spain.
Let me rephrase your question: Why has so little attention been paid to the anniversary of the conquest of Mexico by the U.S.?
The U.S. Army invaded Mexico in 1846 only after the U.S. tried unsuccessfully to purchase its northern half. We then found an excuse to invade Mexico and force the sale of what would later become New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, California and Nevada.
Today, that land grab still rankles with Mexicans.
We in the U.S. don’t know or care how this transaction ensued.
In 1991, walking across the bridge in El Paso, Texas, I saw painted on the embankment of the Rio Grande the message, in Spanish, “Mr. Bush, you ask us to join your coalition to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. We will do so once you return to us the territories stolen by the U.S. in 1848.”
We Americans tend to remember and celebrate our victorious wars, “Yay, Teddy Roosevelt and San Juan Hill,” “Hurray for the U.S. winning World War II.”
Since we prevailed against Mexico, I propose a yearly celebration to honor the memory of the Mexican American War. Oh, and let’s build a border wall to keep those Mexicans out of the U.S.
Jim SkvorcCortez
