BROWNSVILLE--THE THIRD WORLD CITY OF THE USA!!!

If Brownsville has qualified twice as an All-American City, what does that designation say about the United States? Would ex-President Barack Obama have showcased Brownsville to foreign dignitaries as an example of their communities' future possibilities?

Brownsville sits next to one of the most violent countries in the world and on the banks of the most polluted river on the globe. Not even the poor drink the water because they fear its contamination.

Poverty and ignorance reign. A corrupt political system flourishes because a conservative newspaper treats its subscribers like 12-year-olds and refuses to upset its advertisers with the truth.

According to national studies, the public school system graduates illiterates and the university produces ignoramuses. The BISD hires the UTRGV products and the cancer spreads.

In the last college and port elections less than 5,000 citizens voted out of a populace of more than 200,000. The streets are full of holes. The parks are hardscrabble. Raising taxes and utility rates finance sweetheart deals among the ruling elite.

Nobody trusts anybody. Those who don't deceive are deceived. Sadness hangs over the town like the summer's oppressive heat.

Nevertheless, Brownsville is an All-American City even though it has more in common with the Third-World conditions of Central America rather than the modern conveniences of North America.