(image via Pixabay)
I’d like to repeat what I’ve stated several times already, that Steel Magnificat is not endorsing a political candidate this year because every single candidate who stands a snowball’s chance of the United States’ Presidency supports at least one grave evil. Make your own decision on how you will vote to lessen evil, don’t commit the idolatry of letting any political party rather than our Faith tell you what’s morally right, and I’ll see you at the polls. I’ll be the one in deep mourning with a black mantilla.
Now, that said, let’s talk about taco trucks. Last night, the whole internet was laughing at a gentleman, himself a Latino, who when interviewed on MSNBC warned that if Donald Trump did not become president, there would be “taco trucks on every corner” due to the influx of Mexicans. The internet wasn’t frightened by this. People have been comparing it to Hoover’s promise of “a chicken in every pot.” People associated chicken with luxury in the late 1920s; we associate tacos with a quick, pleasing meal these days. And we’re right. Tacos are delightful.
Who wouldn’t want a taco truck on every corner? Goodness, on my block there are abandoned houses on every corner; they could set up a taco restaurant at least every other block without anyone minding in the least. Everybody likes tacos. Most people even like the really bad tacos, with grease spurting out of every bite of the limp shell. And speaking of shells– hard tacos are gluten-free, most of the time. Do you know what a boon it would be for me if there was a truck selling gluten-free lunches right in my neighborhood?
Naturally, we’d have to make some changes to accommodate all the taco trucks. The FDA would have to periodically inspect them, just as they’re supposed to inspect all eating establishments. They’d have to hire many new inspectors to keep abreast of the burgeoning taco industry. And the inspectors would have to be overseen by whoever it is that oversees taco truck inspectors to be assured that they’re not being bribed in tacos. Inspectors are only human, after all.
Besides creating jobs for all the inspectors, imagine the huge growth in jobs for lettuce farmers, salsa craftspersons and people who deep fry taco shells. I know brilliant organic farmers who are always looking for ways to get rid of the enormous influx of lettuce in early June. And since lettuce doesn’t keep, we’ll need people to grow it indoors at other times of year as well. Maybe we could set up hydroponic towers of lettuce in apartment buildings all over the big cities, and the tenants could negotiate prices with local taco vendors. Cottage industries and sustainable small farms would spring up in the very bowels of our nastiest urban areas. The whole economy would prosper, from sea to shining sea.
This is all very silly speculation, of course. Now, let’s talk about something that isn’t a joke.
I don’t believe that everyone who is concerned with how to keep the country safe, is a bigot. Not at all. This is a frightening time to be alive. There are wars all over the world. There are frequent terrorist attacks, on our own soil and abroad. It’s perfectly legitimate to be concerned about how we’re going to keep ourselves and our families safe, and how immigration might affect that. However, it is increasingly popular, in this country at this time, to be a bigot. It’s increasingly accepted. Our fears are being manipulated for political profit, and people who are merely cautious aren’t profitable. Terrified people are profitable. Angry people are profitable. A mob of people who are angry because they are terrified is the easiest mob to manipulate. Stir that froth until it overflows and you’ve got yourself an empire. Keep pointing to the enemy you’ve set up, and they’ll never look back at you except to exalt you for claiming you’ll make them safe.
That’s what certain people would like to happen to the whole country, right now. It would profit them if it did.
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