Across the border of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, 
a woman who personified these beliefs was savagely beaten and murdered. Although her death made headlines around the world, the barbarous animals responsible for this crime will likely go unpunished.
a woman who personified these beliefs was savagely beaten and murdered. Although her death made headlines around the world, the barbarous animals responsible for this crime will likely go unpunished.
Maria Santos Gorrostieta was a mother and wife who survived previous assassination attempts, one that took her first husband, before being abducted in daylight while dropping her daughter off at school. As mayor of the small town of Tiquicheo, Mexico she stood against the illegal drug trade and poverty that ravaged her people on behalf of the "men who break their souls everyday without rest to find a piece of bread for their children."
Thirty years after Nancy Reagan pleaded with Americans to "Just Say No," the many broken souls who find solace in artificial paradises will turn a blind eye to this slaughter as if it were part of the food trade, unavoidable, and the profiteers will get back to the business of delivering the medication to numb the guilt. The idea of justice will be left to comic book heroes and the guys wearing the white hats in westerns.
Can we saddle up the horses and ride until we hang every last one of those responsible before loping off into the sunset leaving the poor man we liberated to fill the void?
Can we attack the demand side of the equation by collectively saying no? Can we end addiction after seeing how insidiously it took the life of Whitney Houston and countless others?
Perhaps the most effective way is to eliminate cartel profits by legalizing drugs with the same wariness we applied to alcohol. It is estimated that American states that have legalized marijuana have siphoned billions from criminal enterprises across our border.
The answer may be all of the above.
In the meantime, I will pray for Maria Santos Gorrostieta and her family and when the time comes for me to stand up for what's right, I will pray that I may find her strength.