I just talked to my kids about this over the summer.
We live in San Jose CA. Cinco De Mayo is a big big thing here. They all want to celebrate their "Mexican" heritage. They drive up and down the streets with Mexican flags flying from their cars.

At first I got angry about it. I came home and there were about 10 young people on our patio celebrating "Cinco De Mayo" by drinking beer and listening to Rap music. When I asked them what it was about, they said it was "Mexican Independence Day". I asked them what they were celebrating, they said they were celebrating their Mexican Heritage.

(All of these kids were born and raised here in the United States). I asked if they had ever "been" to Mexico. Some of them said they had been to Tijuana. I asked if any of them had ever "lived" in Mexico. None had, except mine. (I am Caucasian, my kids' father is from Mexico City) so we lived there for two years.

I then proceeded to tell them about life in Mexico. How there are armed guards at the entrances to the Malls. Not just with Pistols, but with Machine guns and they are wrapped in bullets. About how they have to "pay" the police men to patrol their neighborhood. About how if they are American, they can't just go out the door to the Park, or to the Mall. They have to have at least one or two Mexican men with them or they will be Kidnapped and held for ransome by some thugs. About how you can't even buy Milk at the grocery store there... and if you do, it is dehydrated or substandard.

I talked to them about how in other countries, there is no way they would be able to drive down the street with the flag of another country on their car. They might get shot, arrested, or who knows what! They really have no idea how lucky they are to live here in the U.S.

There was one young man there who had just come back from his third tour in Iraq. He backed me up about how life was for them over there.

Wether or not these kids will vote, is another story. However, they did listen for ten minutes to the crazy white lady about how lucky they are to be living in the U.S.!