Cry, my beloved country!

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

Daily we are increasingly besieged by internal and external problems. Our people are hurting. Many have left the islands and others are planning to leave. Daily the food lines get longer. Many of us are desperate but have nowhere to turn to for help or guidance. We have illnesses and cannot cure them. A cancer is slowly gripping us, and all our leaders do is talk and talk. Why have they abandoned us? Where is their will and courage to solve our problem?

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

Our beautiful islands in which so many of us were born and which has given us pride in being islanders is being abused and assaulted by the very people in whom we gave our trust and elected them to act as our representatives. Do they not feel our pain, fear, anxiety, and depression?

Businesses are folding their doors. Our children are leaving their homes because their future has been crushed. Tourists are abandoning us because we have lost the lure of attraction. What future lies in store for us? Are we so helpless that we cannot help ourselves?

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

I refuse to believe that we cannot resurrect ourselves. Is it that our leaders have lost the strong will and determination to act courageously? Please don’t betray the trust we gave you. Betrayal of trust is one of the worst crimes against another human being. Our country’s strength and greatness comes from two sources: one is from its educated and concerned citizens that work hard for their country and the other is from its leaders that practice qualities to lead the country.

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

Leadership may be defined as a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs an organization. Leaders motivate people to perform or accomplish acts. Let us examine these qualities of leadership. As we read them, remember the following words: I—Integrity, C—Compassion, A—Accountability, R—Risk-taking, E—Excellence. Putting the first letter of each word together they spell I CARE!

Integrity means doing the right thing for the right reason and in the right way. A leader with integrity attracts followers. A sense of responsibility and honesty dominates his decisions.

Compassion is practiced by the leader when he is attuned to the personal, emotional, and spiritual needs of our citizens and each other. Compassion is one of the noblest qualities a leader possesses.

Accountability is to take full responsibility for personal decisions and actions. A leader is the steward of the community’s resources that have been entrusted to his care.

Risk-taking leaders have the courage to act in situations where results aren’t assured. They analyze the situation, listing the pros and cons. Then they determine the possibility of what each outcome may occur.

Excellence allows for no acceptance of poor performance. The true leader is committed to giving only his best. He keeps trying to reach perfection and harmony in the community.

The attributes mentioned above are only a few that great leaders possess. True and concerned leaders spend a lifetime perfecting the qualities of leadership. How many of our current leaders practice them?

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

Lawrence W. Reed in his essay on statesmanship explains the qualities that define a statesman in the following: “The statesman takes time from a life of accomplishment to serve the general welfare. He stands for a principled vision, not for what he thinks citizens will fall for. He is well informed about the vicissitudes of human nature, the lessons of history, the role of ideas, and the economics of the marketplace. He is a truth-seeker, which means he is more likely to do what is right than what may be politically popular at the moment….He elevates public discussion because he knows what he is talking about. He does not engage in class warfare or in divisive or partisan tactics that pull people apart. He does not cynically buy votes with the money his taxes take from others. He may even judge his success in office as much by how many laws he repealed as by how many he passes.”

Until all of our leaders strive to become statesmen and stateswomen, our beloved CNMI will continue to falter. They must rise to the challenges as never before and show us by their leadership and courage that our community can revitalize itself. If not we will continue to be at best a mediocre society wholly dependent upon the United States as a child to a parent.

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

Anything of worth in the Legislature and Administration has to be done as a unified group. This is where statesmanship enters. You, our leaders, must persuade your peers to see things through your eyes, through discussions and through compromises.

Politics is not a job. It is a duty. You asked to enter into it for the service of your fellow citizens. If you truly believe in your duty, than live it! Do we ask any less of our soldiers who defend our country and rights with their lives?

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

You, our leaders, should be the catalyst and hope for leading us back to prosperity and dignity. Please cut out the following pledge and glue it squarely in the middle of your desk and read it daily:

“I have been elected and given the trust to represent my people of the CNMI. My duty is to help the people. I pledge to place this duty above all else. I shall seek only what is good for the general public. I will never sacrifice my duty for personal gain—so help me God!”

Gentlemen, when you leave office, what do you wish to be remembered for? What legacy will you leave our people? What are your dreams for the CNMI? A wise man once said: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. But what we do for others, lives on forever.”

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!

The thoughts expressed above are written in behalf of the silent majority who plead with you to lead us. Hopefully these words will spur you to heed our pleas and act forcefully and in a positive manner. Fear, anxiety and depression have gripped us. Recall: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Hopefully through your leadership, we can envision a better future through our trust and faith in you. Do not forsake us. Your motto must be: “I have been chosen to lead! Duty to my country comes first!”

May God grant you the courage to do the right thing. May He also grant you the wisdom to know what you can do and cannot do. May He grant you the courage to lead us bravely.

A word to all of us, my fellow citizens, we too must help them to lead us correctly by letting them know what we wish. We must become an active participant in shaping our community along with our leaders. Let our voices be heard. Our country can weather our problems if we are willing to make the sacrifices. Are we? If we do not actively participant, we desire what we are having now.

Cry, my beloved country, for we have been forsaken by our leaders!