By: Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
I had wanted to make this announcement after the war… but I had no idea that as the years go by, I will not be hearing the words — After the War — any time soon.

According to former President George W. Bush, the United States did not declare war against Iraq in 2003 because he did not need to seek authorization. His reasoning: because the first Iraq war had never ended. That means that since Jan 17, 1991, the United States has been in a continuous state of war. Before the war, then, means Jan 16, 1991… This means that there are college students alive today who have not known a day without war…

Even if we only counted since 2001, nine years is a long time to be at war, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq… and a few other countries, with prospects for a few more. This also means that for nearly the past ten years, there hasn’t been a day in which people weren’t dying because of our so-called wars…

Many if not most people envisioned hearing the words — After the War — soon after President Barack Obama was elected. Such was not the case. What a disappointment. Truly, the disappointment has been with ourselves — the people — with our inability to stop the criminal and imperial pursuit of permanent worldwide war… disappointment with our inability — as peoples — to distinguish between truth and permanent lies and arrogance as a form of government and also the failure to bring anyone to legally account for the unprecedented crimes of the previous eight years.

I’ve been writing since 1972 (La Gente Newspaper UCLA) and I’ve been writing columns since 1984, beginning with Eastern Group Publications and La Opinion in L.A. (I actually began my column writing at Lowrider Magazine in the late 1970s).

As a writing team, my wife (Patrisia Gonzales) and I began writing joint columns since March of 1994 through Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate. For the past few years, Patrisia’s Patzin column has been in hiatus. During the same time period, I’ve been writing for New America Media.

It is now time for Column of the Americas to also go into hiatus, but not before one last column at the end of this month of March.

This does not mean that I, or we, will stop writing. Quite the opposite. Patzin will come back. I’m not so sure about Column of the Americas. What I’m actually quitting is deadline writing. I may write columns whenever I see a need. In a nation that believes the United States has the right to wage permanent war, there will always be a need. Thus, I will continue to write an occasional column, just not deadline based. And yes, I envision the day when I will return to writing a weekly nationally syndicated column in newspapers and other media across the country. Just when that might be, I’m not quite sure, but it could be between 2-5 years.

In the meantime, there are two other kinds of writing that will take precedence for me over the next several years.

Because both of us now teach at the University of Arizona, both of us have to finish several books per our academic research. Thus, you should see several books on traditional birthing and traditional medicine from Patrisia and a book on the [cultural] history of maiz, and a book on origins and migrations from me in the next several years.

But even more exciting, for me at least, is that in the next few years, I will be writing and publishing mostly Huhuetlahtolli (ancient guidances) — and similar kinds of writings. Examples include: Quetzalcoatl, the Ants and the Gift of Maiz … and a forthcoming story on In Lak Ech, Panche Be and Hunab Ku… The material comes from the sum total of all of my work since the early 1970s, but particularly materials gathered from since when I embarked on getting my PhD. More importantly, it comes from guidances from elders going back even further, including from my own parents and other relatives, neiighbors and friends since the 1950s.

I don’t say goodbye because as I said, there will be one more column, and we both will continue our writing. Thanks always for the dialogue and the collaborations that we’ve had and enjoyed during the past generation. Always feel free to write or call and please stay in contact as we are not going away.

Gracias — Thank you — Tlazocamati

Dr. Cintli… & Dr. Patzin
Dr. Cintli: XCol...@gmail.com Dr. Patzin: Pat...@gmail.com
520-626-0824

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