Writing About Mexico With Integrity

Working at various social service agencies as a MSW, one major ethical problem that I encountered was that those institutions, for whatever reasons, often did not live up to their quite wordy and noble stated “mission statements.” So, as the editor/sole writer for BellaOnline’s Mexico site, I wanted to commit to a personal “mission statement” that my writings would embody at all times. Quite simply that statement is ALWAYS WRITE WITH INTEGRITY!

Integrity, from an ethical perspective, is regarded as the sincerity, honesty, truthfulness and/or the accuracy of one’s actions vis-a-vis one’s beliefs; in other words, it is the opposite of hypocrisy. Moreover, from the “identity view of integrity,” it is postulted that integrity is an individual’s resolutely maintaining their “commitments” in such personal domains as one’s values, principles, agendas, beliefs, causes, and interests. Below are some examples of how I always attempt to write about Mexico with integrity.

Prior to moving to Mexico, when my coworkers heard that I was relocating there as an expatriate, universally (really parochially!) they with some embarrassment replied that all that they knew about Mexico was regarding Cancun or Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan, destinations that they had gone to via luxury cruise liners. Consequently, when I became the Mexico site editor I vowed to myself that I would try to expand my readership’s horizons by exposing them to more than just the overpriced, upscale, largely English-speaking “sun, sand, and fun” Mexican foreign tourist enclaves that they may have visited or had planned to do so in the future. Therefore, as Mexico has so much to offer visitors in terms of nature, culture, history, traditions, archaeology, handicrafts, and food, based on my values (above and beyond being really frugal!), principles, and interests, many of my travel-oriented articles have been focused on less well-known and less frequented locations that can be explored safely, comfortably (as in non-ostentatiously) and without expending too many pesos.

Another mission within my integrity-centric “mission statement” is by telling what I believe to be the truth, to either refute or confirm the myriad stereotypes that people have about the country. Thus, por ejemplo, my articles have discussed such steretoype-infused issues as corruption (no, not close to everyone in the country is corrupt, but a form of corruption is institutionally built-in to the fabric of the society), physical fitness (no, not everyone in the country is fat, but Mexico does indeed lead the world in obesity), chihuahuas (no, those tiny-not necessarily clothed, pampered, spoiled-dogs can’t speak Spanish or even English), immigration, legal or otherwise (no, not every Mexican wishes to live in the U.S. and those that do primarily do so industriously for economic reasons), sombreros (sombreros are not just those type of hats that mariachi performers wear, and Mexican cuisine (no, not all Mexican food is spicy even though a high percentage of its people love their chillies). Stereotypes can be insidiously misleading and harmful, so I do my best to set the record straight about them, utiilizing as much first-hand information as possible based on what I have seen, heard, and or experienced. Giving a balanced viewpoint for me is an integral part of writing with integrity.

No topic or issue can or should be immune from being addressed with the guiding light of integrity. Certainly, particularly since 2006, Mexico has been beset by horrific narco-related crime and violence. Yet, from everything that I have read, heard, discussed with Mexican citizens and other expatriates, and seen, very little of that illegal/dangerous activity has affected tourists in both popular and even off-the-beaten-track destinations. So, when I write travel-type articles I write only about areas/locations that I believe to be safe for anyone who visits there that shows a reasonable amount of common sense and discretion. With only one exception that I know of, having traveled extensively in Mexico, particularly in the Pacific Central/Western and Central regions of the country, every community that I have visited, small and large, I would recommend from a safety point of view; the one that I found out after I had been there that is no longer considered safe due to illegal drug activity, I would advise against going there for the present.

Now being honest, as isn’t honesty the focal point of integrity in a “to thine ownself be true” sort of leading-the-way, a very large percentage of my articles are centered on and colored by my own interests and values, especially things that I am familiar with but would also like to learn more about. Hence, many of those articles revolve around eco-sensitive tourism, birds/birding , nature appreciation, artifacts and archaeology, rock/mineral collecting, favorite food products, handicrafts of the affordable variety, various types of markets, folk culture, bus travel, and colonial cities. So it is not very likely that I will ever write about telenovelas/soap operas (even if I were fluent in the Spanish language and I am not, although I do know the word for gossip, "chisma"), cockfighting (other than from my cultural perspective, I wish that it did not exist), or about exclusive spas (especially if I really knew what they were) because they are not of particular interest to me nor are they part of my value system.

However, even though not part of my belief system-as I am a humanistic naturalistic atheistic agnsostic- I have written a number of “neutral” religion-themed articles and will continue to do so. Hypocrite, you say! Not in ONLY this lifetime, I would reply! You see, Mexico is the second largest Catholic country in the world and Mexican-style Catholicism is enmeshed in the country’s indigenous and mestizo past, present, and future as sociologically, psychologically, and philosophically it is an integral part of its societal fabric. Consequently, when writing about the Virgin of Guadalupe, posadas, or the Feast of the Candles, I faithfully (albeit faithlessly) do so from a historical, traditional, and cultural perspective and decidedly not from my own beliefs or lack thereof. To do otherwise, I would be irresponsibly remiss in my obligation to nonjudgementally observe and comment upon such an essential aspect of Mexican life. Yet, as I have done, if I write that the New Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s exterior "looks like a soccer stadium that has a green circus tent atop of it, an edifice that at least from the outside that the American evangelist, Billy Graham or even a latter day Elmer Gantry would have been proud to preach from," that is because, not in the least being sacrilegious, that is what the edifice reminded me of when I saw it; others, like my wife, Maria, have called it a “spaceship” but that is not what it looked like to me. Sometimes, personal integrity and political correctness do not go hand-in-hand.

As I have expressed, I sincerely believe that my writings do live up to my “mission statement.“ Whether or not they are also the embodiment of moral ethicalness is another story. Er, I think that I can and should phrase that more accurately! What I mean to say is that the ethicalness of what I write could be the topic of another article, remembering that there is not necessarily a direct correlation between ethics and one’s own individualized sense of integrity. In my case, I believe that there is but...