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La Vista: Where’s the solicitation-free zone?

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The Bush Administration’s recent $700 billion bailout of failing financial institutions is no different than the knock on your door from well-intentioned solicitors early Saturday morning. You know, when you’re still in your chonis, wiping the legañas from your eyes and the solicitors are saying, “Good morning, I’m raising money for my cause. Can you give a little?”

I’m happy to do my part and give extra here and there, but I’m tired of everyone trying to reach into my pocket for more of the little extra I just don’t have anymore. Where’s the solicitation-free zone? Can anyone tell me how to get there? I’d like to set up residence. There’s just no safe place. You get solicited at work, on the road and at every conceivable store known to man — grocery, drug, convenient, warehouse, department and more.

When asked, my reply is always politely the same, “I give at church.” In reality, I give more than at church — but I want the decision to give to be mine, not because someone held their hand out, smiled, guilted you and said, “Please!” Which brings up another point, our illustrious politicians didn’t even say, “Please.” They just stuck their hands into our pockets, bypassed the hole in our pocket and found the little we stuck in our shoe to make sure we had lunch money and took it without asking.

I grew up during a time that when the budget was tight, no más carne asada. We lived on frijoles y arroz until we could afford the luxury of meat. Ay chihuahua, La Bonita tortillas de harina are almost $2 a dozen — estan locos. I guess the comal y el palote are coming out because no self-respecting Mexicano come arroz y frijoles sin tortillas. Which gets back to my point of the U.S. lawmakers, get your manos out of my pocket and stop being codiciosos con mi carne asada. Y, más importante, leave enough rice and beans for everyone and only una tortilla per person until everyone has had at least one.

President Bush and all of the failing CEOs certainly didn’t grow up in a Mexican household, but they’d be much the wiser to bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down on Wall Street, light a candle and go to confession. That always seemed to work for my family and if it didn’t, we at least had faith — the foundation of our economy, consumer confidence.

Are you caught up in the current political spin cycle?
Read a local Latina’s perspective on politics in La Vista, a periodic column.