Arizona: Still Crazy After All These Years; And Still Beautiful Too

by Irene Daniel

I was born and raised in the Grand Canyon State and I don't mind telling you: I still miss it a lot. Four Generations of Cervantes' were born there, my son still lives there and my mother is buried there. And one of the best things about AZ right this minute is Major League Baseball Spring Training -- Cactus League. Other than my son's little league games, the most fun I ever had at a baseball game was at spring training. This time next week, the Cactus League will be in full swing. If you're in the vicinity and you've never been -- you are missing out!

And I miss the Sonora desert this time of year. It's really beautiful, especially after a big rain. The spring desert blooms from February through June. I miss the smell of the orange blossoms, which once perfumed the entire state this time of year. I miss the screaming yellow blossoms of the Palo Verde, AZ's state tree. And most of all of course, I miss my son.

What I do not miss about AZ is it's tendency to go Dixie crazy at the worst possible moment. I am, of course, elated that Governor Brewer vetoed SB 1062, but appalled that such proposed legislation made it that far, causing AZ another national embarrassing moment: MLK Day, SB 1070 and now SB 1062, which Governor Brewer had the good sense, or enough economic fear, to veto. I remember when I was in law school and how people in LA looked at me funny when I told them I was from AZ. I had to reassure them that the state legislature does not accurately represent the values of all of its citizens; just the richest ones.

27 years ago, I was busy at my desk in the Arizona State Senate, working as a legislative intern to the Health and Welfare Committee. It was during the time of Governor Evan Mecham, an even crazier era than now, if you can imagine it. At that time, the only full-time analysts were assigned to the committees, not individual senators. We interns gathered information, researched proposed legislation and its impact and compiled Facts Sheets, which we distributed, not only to our committee members, but to the entire senate as well. I remember distributing our Fact Sheets on Friday afternoons, and my then 6-year old helped me deliver them to all the senators. We were also responsible for lining up the testimony for committee hearings. While it's been a while, I doubt that the information gathering process is worse than it was then.

That's why when I heard Senator Steve Pierce declare on national television that he really didn't understand the impact of the bill, I knew he was lying. Or he didn't read the research, or his staff sucks, or he is just inept. Or, they thought they could get away with it. Moreover, as with any large legislative body, the AZ legislature has the Office of the Legislative Counsel (or leg counsel, as we would say) to advice the senators and representatives of the legal consequences and/or constitutionality of any proposed legislation. AZ may be backward politically, but it's not due to lack of information; just lack of compassion and insight.

As I watched the news last night and saw the scene in front of the State Capitol Building with its famous copper dome, I couldn't help but to go back there in my memory. The staff parked across the
street and we would walk across Washington Street to get to the building. I remember how warm it would be this time of year already, and how it seemed to effect dispositions in a positive way.  I remember Mary, who ran the snack shop and the sine di pool. I remember my son working with me on Friday afternoons after his father dropped him off; and how happy I am that we have that memory together. It was my last semester of college before moving away to the City of Angels.

And I remember the craziness of the old cowboy mentality in the state legislature. It was true then and it's true now. You see, AZ was settled largely by white southerners with a Dixie mentality. After the Civil War, Yankees were dispatched to govern the dusty territory, and that dichotomy lives on today; although the settlers are now largely elderly retired whites from the south and Midwest -- the new Dixie. The power of the United Mine Workers was once felt in AZ before copper went bust in the 1970s and unions gave way to the "right to work" mentality of the GOP and ALEC.

So, my beloved desert is filled, still and again, with those who come from another place, who do not understand the beauty of the delicate natural balance, and its sweet nuance. With those who must come in and "right" everything, adjusting the natural balance to suit their own needs.  And so, the balance is disrupted, and the subtle beauty of the mystical desert is marred by interlopers and carpetbaggers, yet again.

But I have hope for the land of my birth. There are a lot of good and decent people in AZ who are tired of being a national joke. The xenophobic history of the Grand Canyon State is about to be written anew in the 21st century. In the time since SB1070 passed, AZ's Latino voter registration increased by almost 500%. Moreover, the older and whiter population around the nation is declining, and being replaced by Latinos and millennials, who will not tolerate legalized discrimination. AZ will become purple, if not blue by 2020. As will much more of the nation if the GOP can't find a way to stop insulting nonwhites and women.

I used to wonder how people from the south could defend it, with its racist and violent past. But now I know. Home is home. And wherever home is, there are always good memories and good people there. There is always love where home is.

Arizona -- I still love you, craziness and all.