La Revolution: It seems at times as if the whole world is fighting against itself. The only places that seem to not be involved in any skirmishes are of course Switzerland, but we seem to right them off as simply silly pacifists, and Mexico. We rarely hear anything in the news about Mexico. Naturally there is the occasional report about how bad of a pollution problem they have, and about not drinking the water. During election times we might even hear about how all the Mexicans are taking away our wonderful jobs at McDonalds. If one is lucky they might even catch an E! Special about a breath-taking coast in Mexico covered in scantly clad Latino beauties, but that seems to be about as far as the media has got. Mexico remains a place of great mystery. Wouldn’t it be a great shock if one day we were hear that Mexico is in the middle of a civil war, and even more shocking if we were to find out that this war has been going on since the Spaniards conquered the Mayan Indians in 1524. Why is it that we never see anything on the news about the people, who just south of the boarder, have been fighting for their freedom for the past 500 years? Maybe it is never covered by the news, because there really isn’t any reason for an uprising at all. Yet, could it be something more ominous? Do the people of modern Mexico really have a reason to fight, and if so why do so many people in America seem to know nothing about the struggles taking place in our very own continent. The first forceful revolutionary: Emiliano Zapata. Peasants have been working communal farms lads in Chiapas Mexico for hundreds of years, but the new government has suddenly stripped them of land “ownership” and given the land to wealthy men, thus turning the indigenous Indians into virtual slaves for men that have no right to their land. Zapata saw a problem. There is no peaceful way to combat slavery. Zapata realized this and stated that “Seek justice from tyrannical governments not with your hat in your hands but with a rifle in your fist.”(Zapata: the Ideology of a Peasant Revolutionary) Still that was the early 1900’s surely the problem has been taken care of by now. Unfortunately nothing has changed. People are still oppressed, and out of that the birthing of what some are calling another “revolutionary.” Is it possible that a man who carries a machine gun around is truly a revolutionary? Why does it seem that so few know anything about the masked man of the Lacandona Jungle? The new revolutionaries name, the man under the mask is Subcomandante Marcos the founder of the EZLN army. He is not an indigenous Indian of Chiapas Mexico. On the contrary he is in fact a highly educated man capable of speaking three different languages. He is also a doctor, and most shockingly of all the son of a rich mestizo (the “enemy” of the Indians.) Yet, now he has given up the wealth and lives as a ghost in the mountains and jungles of Chiapas, seeking freedom for the oppressed. What would drive a man to make the decision to give up wealth and notoriety just to become a faceless fugitive in the jungle? It is possible, however not likely, that Marcos is an insane man who is persuasive enough to convince people to join his cause and fight for their land and rights. Maybe somehow there is plenty of money to be made through the conflict; finally Marcos might in fact be a true revolutionary. However it is important too not rule out the idea of him becoming rich from this guerrilla movement that he has truly helped bring to a forefront. Why would he give up the riches he had just to search for riches in a situation in which the fear of death is a constant? It seems that few people know much about what is happening in Chiapas. In fact the people that seem to be noticing most are actually the youth. Marcos has even developed a relationship with a nationally acclaimed rock group known as Rage Against the Machine. The fact that the youth seem to know more about this than most adults could actually keep more people from becoming informed, because most adults seem to abhor any amount of passion or zeal for new things, especially questionable or confusing things, and what is taking place in Mexico is far from simple. What is going on in Chiapas is quite confusing. The civil war in Mexico is so perplexing that it has been going on for the past five centuries and no answer has been found. Could it be that the reason why no adults seem to be interested in Zapata or Marcos is because they are not simply peaceful protesters but are also soldiers? If that is our only reasoning for not excepting Marcos’ belief system than how can we feel comfortable living in a nation that was founded on violent rebellion against a tyrannical government? Marcos has even talked about how he wishes they didn’t have to fight with guns. He has published a book of writings about peace and liberation titled Our Word Is Our Weapon. These don’t seem like the words of an insane man bent on murder, but more like a man focused on solving a problem. In That Hideous Strength C.S. Lewis observes, “Everyone begins as a child by liking weather. You learn the art of disliking it as you grow up.” Could it be, just as Lewis observed, that as we grow in age we learn to dislike weather that in the exact same way, as we get older, we learn to shut down anything that might make us question our ideals? What else is going on in Chiapas that we don’t know about? I think most would agree that it is an atrocity that the indigenous people have been denied their land. What if we were to find out that on top of simply having their land taken away that the land that they had, contained millions of dollars in natural resources? The entire state of Chiapas is full of oil, cocoa, coffee, and trees for making paper. However with the passing of NAFTA all hope for the people seemed to fade. Tom Hayden gives an account of what happened: NAFTA is implemented on January 1. On the same day, 3,000 members of the EZLN occupy six large towns and hundreds of ranches in an armed uprising. Within 24 hours the army responds, bombing indigenous communities and killing at least 145 Indians. Mexican civil society responds with massive demonstrations calling for and end to military repression, and a cease-fire is declared January 12. (The Zapatista Reader) Since that time the battle has been in a state of constant gridlock. The Mexican government says that the EZLN is not willing to negotiate and that they are unreasonable. Yet, who is to say what is unreasonable when someone’s land, home, family, and indeed their very life is at stake. If these are stakes it is understandable why a group of people who have been held down for the past five hundred years would seem unreasonable. For the indigenous people of Mexico death is an extremely real fear. If the fight is lost, for the Indians, physical death is certain, as far as Marcos and the EZLN is concerned they have already died. On the other side of the spectrum the only thing the government has to loose is money and notoriety. Too put it into a better light, one underground magazine states: Mexico is a nation that has created thirty-six billionaires since 1994. In this same period of time it has also added thirty-six million of its citizens to a condition of poverty. Thirty-six more billionaires and thirty-six more paupers. A million to one. Those are the odds… (Zapata Rides) It is clear by now that things are very wrong in Mexico. In Human Rights Watch: World Report, they talk about numerous “disappearings” or kidnappings. Also there are reports of torture, murder, racism, rape, and corruption all acts carried out by men in the National Army stationed in Chiapas. So apart from not being able to live a life in which the pursuit of happiness is a feasible idea, the natives are consumed with unimaginable amounts of fear. It seems that in Mexico if you can’t produce anything to put money back into the pockets of the government then you aren’t really worth anything. In parts of Mexico there are actually people who live in sewers because it is the only form of shelter they can find. What does the government do? Nothing. Instead police officers valiantly do their jobs and find these sewer dwellers beating them and usually taking what little money they have. The list of atrocities goes on and on. The deeper that one digs the more confusion one will find. There is no answer anywhere as to why this is aloud to happen and the question is still looming over everyone’s head, “Why does no one know what is going on, and why does it seem as if nothing is being done?” No one can deny the problem. In search for answers the most recent document found was a book printed in 2001 reporting the problems of 2000. One burning problem is that no one is supplying answers. The only thing being offered is information. At first glance some information appears to have answers. An archived hearing has “Conflict Resolution: Chiapas Mexico and the Search for Peace” clearly printed on the front of it. Conflict Resolution! After reading the introduction however, one discovers that the hearing in fact, has nothing to do with resolution. It is simply a bunch of men in a room talking about the problem. Through out the entire hearing not one idea about how to beat the problem is put forth. If George Orwell were to read this he would probably attribute it of being nothing less then the beginnings of “Newspeak.” So one question is still strikingly unanswered. The problem of whether or not Marcos and the EZLN really have a battle seems to be apparent. Whether or not if all their tactics, actions, and political views are morally correct is an entirely different dilemma. What could possibly be the reason for so many Americans being so ill informed? Could it be that maybe our government has something to do with the problem? Aside from the passing of NAFTA could there be anything else going on? If the government is directly involved, is debatable, however certain things would suggest that the government is not trying its hardest to not be involved. For many years the United States Government has continually donated military equipment to the Mexican Army. There are regulations on the equipment that we have given them. All of the planes, helicopters, and transport vehicles are only supposed to be used to fight drug trafficking. However different officials have said that it is an impossibility to keep track of what they are using it for, and in 1994 when the EZLN took over six cities the Mexican Army used U.S. donated helicopters to transport soldiers to the sight. This was a direct violation of what the helicopters were to be used for, but donations have continually increased. The U.S. does conduct inspections of the equipment to see if the equipment is being used for what it was intended for, but inspections are never done without a prior notice. This gives the army plenty of time to make sure every thing is in its proper place. With the knowledge that our donations have been misused, why would the government still donate more equipment? Secondly, why would, with the knowledge that they are misusing equipment, give warning before conducting inspections. It would appear as if the government is just ignoring the problem. It is always a possibility that These are just mistakes made because of such a large system in which problems must filter through, but if the government is consciously ignoring the problem we must begin to question our government deeper than we ever have before. It is also highly possible that just like the Mexican government stands to make money off of the deaths of the Indians, the American government could possibly and most likely stands to make quite a bit of money once the problem of guerrillas is put to sleep. Understand, not the government as a whole, but different people who have the power to curve things in a way profitable for them. Regardless it would seem that someone has taken the stance, that for the American people, ignorance is in fact bliss. The parallels that can be drawn between the situation in Mexico and what happened to the Native Americans are immeasurable. In fact the first time I ever heard anything about what is taking place in Mexico was from a Native American. For him and his people the fight is lost. His people are forced to settle for casinos and reservations, and some would like to say they don’t even deserve that. For the Mayans however, the fight is not over. The hope may be minimal, but amazing things take place when someone puts big faith in a small hope. The Mayans seem to realize that they will most likely never get American Media attention. Their hope rests in people from every nation and every walk of life. Their hope is in people who are faceless, just like they are, too the Mexican Government and the uniformed U.S. public. Is it a possibility that the reason why the Mayans gain little or no media attention is because what is happening to them so closely resembles what happened to the Native Americans? Most people don’t want to confront anything about the past. So why would any media station trying to make money and gain more viewers want to air specials suggesting that we question out past as a nation. If we were to become highly informed of the problems taking place it would be inevitable that the people of America would have to begin to question themselves. We would be faced with quite conflicting and hard to answer questions. Things would probably not look to good for our government either. The people in Mexico are expressing a constitutional right to fight against a government when it becomes tyrannical. Zapata said the government was tyrannical in the early 1900’s, and the fight is still going on. The same constitutional right is guaranteed to the people of America. All throughout the history of the U.S. there is many times in which it would have been legitimate for people to express that right, but if they did would the government shut them down. Judging by the history of the Mayans, it would seem that out constitution is giving us a right that we most likely couldn’t express even under the correct circumstances. “Mexico is a young girls sigh.” (Conflict in Chiapas) What a simple way to describe such a complex country. Hopefully a day will come for the people of Mexico in which all can share a sigh of relief and enjoy the beauty of their land. The battle is still existent whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Once someone has had a taste of the complex mystery unfolding just south of the homeland, hopefully they will continue to grow in awareness. The more we know the more the words of Marcos can become true in our own lives: “our word is our weapon.” Finally the thing most apparent in this conflict is proven over and over; yes it is indeed a fact, THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.