Hispanic Values at the Polls

Perhaps too much is made of the growing Latino presence in the United States and not enough is made of this presence right here in our own community.

The San Fernando Valley, long perceived as the bastion of vacuous Valley girls and self-indulgent suburbanites, is changing. It is becoming the home of hard-working and aspiring Latinos.

The heart of the Valley, from Canoga Park through Reseda, Van Nuys, North Hollywood and San Fernando, is now dominated by the growing Latino presence. Affluent hillside neighborhoods--Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills and North Hills up to Granada Hills and Northridge--loom over this increasingly Latino Valley. These populations have very different demographics, and there is much the affluent don’t know about their Latino neighbors.

But it’s about time we got to know each other a bit better. There is much at stake in this electoral year. With razor-thin margins common in our elections, people are paying attention to the crucial Latino vote. Will Latinos always vote for Latino politicians? Will they always vote for Anglo politicians who speak Spanish? These factors may make a difference to some, but ultimately the key factor will be values.

I cannot pretend to speak for the Latino communities, but coming from them and having the good fortune to study them daily in my consumer research business, I see very strong values in the Latino community. My research suggests a consensus in the following areas:

Hispanics believe that access to quality health care is a human right rather than a personal luxury. Ironically, many come from Third World countries where such rights are taken for granted. The U.S., the richest and most self-righteous country in the world, has much to learn from its neighbors to the south.

Hispanics believe in hard work and that a living wage is a fair wage. We cannot build a society that values hard work and justice without justly compensating hard work. For sure, welfare is not the answer, but an unfair wage is worse--the illusion of self-reliance without the reality.

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Hispanics believe that access to a quality public education is a right, and not a political football (especially one that gets fumbled every five yards). Yes, they were disappointed in how former Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ruben Zacarias was treated, but they are more disappointed in how their children are cheated.

Hispanics believe in upward mobility and the principles of a meritocracy. They came to this country not for their own comfort but for opportunities for their children. Stories abound regarding farm worker families in which all of the children go on to college and successful careers. The person who saves your life in an emergency room may well be the child of your gardener. Give them a chance and they’ll make the best of it.

Hispanics are not just family-oriented, they are family-devoted. This includes extreme self-sacrifice, almost unbelievable generosity, dedication and hard work. It is not enough that they struggle to pay rents and utilities and to put food on the table; they also send money back to Latin America (and thus prop up faltering economies and democracies, without which immigration flow would become a flood).

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Hispanics have a clear vision of a shared community. They believe that public services are to everyone’s benefit, including roads, public transportation and other infrastructure. This shared-community consciousness is crucial. They believe that the more you share the more you have. This isn’t socialism (all in one boat); it’s enlightened capitalism (we’re all on the same sea and a rising tide raises all ships).

Hispanics have a clear sense of fairness. This includes the intuited fairness of a progressive tax system and other sliding scales. A flat tax sounds wonderful to rich people, but people who struggle to put food on the table know this to be unfair. So are corporate tax loopholes.

Policies that would widen the gaps between the rich and the poor will be rejected. The concepts of trickle-down economics just don’t make sense to people from the land; they know you don’t water the leaves of a tree, but its roots.

In this electoral year as in any other, facile and disingenuous politicians will sway many in the Hispanic community. They are as gullible as any other segment of the electorate and can and have been fooled by slick advertising. But those parties and candidates that make their philosophies clear and that identify with the values and goals of the Hispanic community have a better chance of winning this crucial prize.

I for one believe that these core values could lead to a better society for us all.