Absolut Insults America...

The makers of Absolut vodka are running an ad in Mexico that shows a map of North America with its pre-Mexican-American war borders, where Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico are still part of the nation of Mexico. The tag line is, "In An Absolut [read: perfect] World."

They are only running this ad in Mexico (go figure).

From the LA Times:

"[Favio] Ucedo, [creative director of a Lation ad agency] who is from Argentina, said: “Mexicans talk about how the Americans stole their land, so this is their way of reclaiming it. It’s very relevant and the Mexicans will love the idea.”

But he said that were the campaign to run in the United States, it might fall flat.

“Many people aren’t going to understand it here. Americans in the East and the North or in the center of the county -- I don’t know if they know much about the history.

“Probably Americans in Texas and California understand perfectly and I don’t know how they’d take it.”

Think about that: Mexicans still talk about how Americans stole their land...back in 1848. The United States has reached "from sea to shining sea" for 160 years, but Mexico still can't get over it.

What I truly don't get is this: Mexicans seem to have so much pride in their home country...and I have no problem with that: I'm a proud American, after all. But if Mexico were truly so great, why do millions of Mexicans try to flee their nation every year to come to America? The United States of America truly is the Land of Opportunity and is so much better than Mexico, and millions upon millions of Mexicans (even the ones marching in the streets of US cities waving Mexican flags) testify to that through their determination to come here to find jobs. Heck, illegal Mexican immigrants can make a better living in the US at substandard wages then they can earning standard wages down in Mexico.

Personally, I think the whole "reconquista" movement is just a massive case of jealousy: we fought a war. The U.S. won. We signed a treaty. The Southwestern U.S. was claimed by the United States as the spoils of war, and Mexico ceded the territory. If Mexico wants it back, they can try to take it...but they won't do that, because the US military would kick their butts back into the stone age...AGAIN.

Shame on Absolut for trying to further encourage Mexicans to waste their time and energy on taking back what isn't theirs. Mexico is a nation riddled with problems, and the U. S. of A. has become a massive excuse for their politicians to ignore the problems within their own nation and shift blame northward. It's gone on long enough.