There is so much going on in our world that really requires our attention. The economy, war, our education system, immigration, crime, and the election process to name a few. Most of the problems have been created and sustained by politicians in order to serve their purposes. If the politicians were gone, most of those problems would go away. At the very least, they would become issues that could be solved regionally by people like you and me. Sadly, it takes our focus away from real problems. Problems that should be addressed because people are suffering.

Recently I put a post on social media in which I expressed the joy of eating a really good tamale. It was a red chile brisket tamale, not something that's traditional, but it was excellent. The flavor, texture, everything about it was so satisfying. A friend commented that it sounded good, and she'd have to try it sometime, also commenting that she'd never had a tamale. Can you believe that?! In today's world, someone has never eaten a tamale?

In fact, there are probably millions of people that have never had a real taco or burrito smothered in green or red. An enchilada is something they've just heard about but never experienced, the egg, onions or chile smothered corn tortillas. The satisfaction of leaving a bar late at night, stopping at a taco stand to wolf down several street tacos is an out of body sensation that many will leave this earth without realizing what they have missed.

I've traveled recently to places like Charlotte, D.C., and Denver. The convenience of having a breakfast burrito is virtually unknown to these people. The sting of a good Hatch chili on your lips and tongue is a foreign concept to them. Don't even get me started on what they call salsa, which is basically spicy ketchup. Carne Asada warms the soul on a cold day better than any stew or pot pie.

In a world that preaches diversity, how can this happen? Certainly, there has been progress in spreading the gospel of good Mexican food. When my family moved to the Ozark region of Missouri in the mid 70s, after much searching, my mom found tamales and flour tortillas both packaged in a can. It was worse than it sounds. Imagine your tortillas sliding out of a tin like Spam. That should be illegal.

We could solve this problem and there is no doubt that progress is being made, but there is so much more to do to bring joy to this world through the experiences of our cuisine. We must get the politicians and the propagandists in the media to focus on the real problems facing this world. I don't want them to solve it themselves because then we'd end up with tamales in a can again.