I suppose it is natural to take things for granted. We all do it to some degree but there is a point where ignorance becomes cruel, becomes indefensible and monstrous.

I woke up to this story on the radio this morning. The music reminded me of my grandfather and the polish music he used to listen to. My grandparents were penniless immigrants like we hear about today in the immigration debate. They came to this country legally but with little more than hope. They worked harder than anyone I have every known and all they wanted was a chance to make an honest wage and make a better life for their children.

Which they did. I can sit here today and write a blog because of their sacrifice. when I think about them and the millions of poor families in this country today trying to do the same thing, it makes me cry. While CEO's complain about their 200+ Million dollar golden parachutes, the backbone of any economy are hard working families trying to make a better life for their kids.

Which is why these corrido songs and our current immigration debate is so offensive.

So many of the things we take for granted in America, like our "low low prices", are based on slavery.

First it was the outright slavery of Africans that supported our agricultural economy. When slavery was outlawed after the civil war, it was replaced with an economic slavery that was just about the same thing. Sure you could move on, but if you died on the job or lost an arm, well fuck you.

The industrial revolution replaced African slavery with the veritable slavery of immigrants (and blacks) in the factories that supported our industrial economy. Today we see the slavery of illegal Latino immigrant workers who support almost all of our trade labor, from factories to farms to building houses to fast food industry. The problem today is probably bigger than it ever was but since the victims dont speak English, few of us notice or care.

Another reason these songs resonated with me is because this past week I watched the movie Fast Food Nation. Not a great movie (read the book) but I was surprised to see that one of the main points in the movie had little to do with fast food or health - it was about the critical role illegal workers plays in our food supply.

We may preach about how we dont want Latino's sneaking over the border to steal our jobs but the fact is our economy is completely dependent on them doing so. And the thing that really scares many businesses is that we would make these workers legal so that the businesses would have to pay them a fair wage and give them legal rights.

What is wrong with us? Slavery is not an American value. We ought to be ashamed. It really boggles the mind the mind that while we take advantage of the lives of all these people so that we can enjoy our standard of living, we criticize these same people as "illegals" and "criminals".

Ignorance, selfishness, and fear make a nice combination.

It is fashionable these days to say that freedom is not free. Well neither is that hamburger, or that 99-cent t-shirt you are wearing. It is time we looked in the mirror and asked ourselves who we really are when we continue to take advantage of other human beings this way.