The allure ‘Do-Nothing’

The golden allure to lay down my pen permanently knocks on my door, intermittently. It isn’t that I’ve lost the inspiration to write. I was simply romanticizing what complete retirement is like replicating work on imperial Capital Hill: “Do-Nothing!”

It would have turned into taking meaningful walks along the shore at dawn and sunset to savor quiet moments alone for spiritual nourishment. I also needed the healthy salt spray blowing in from the sea. It’s a great venue to mentally review my scribbles on island legends all written in the vernacular my gift to posterity.

But my guardian angel says otherwise. It’s the pathway to a quick trip into dementia land. Not quite ready to succumb to complete sedentary lifestyle. Well, I’d be around for as long as my intellectual acuity remains razor sharp.

Be that as it may, I wish to encourage everyone to develop reading peripheral and complex researched materials on issues that matter as a daily exercise. You’d build a thirst for the right information and an informed view of whether justice was done or not on issues before us. When discussions go astray, you ask: So what is it? This query resets and invites greater focus for deliberative discussions on issues that matter.

Hence, any issue of interest triggers “initial apprehension” as we move into research and the analytical level. We yearn for rationale explanation, e.g., logic and principle used to consciously reach a decision, why a particular choice was made; how the basis of its selection was developed, why and how the particular information or assumptions were relied on, and why the conclusion is deemed credible or realistic. The research material grants you clarity on differing views or dispositions on issues that matter.

Having walked down this path for years I was a first hand witness to major local or regional events, e.g., the Micronesian Constitutional Convention of over 300 delegates, issues at the South Pacific Community (SPC) comprised of island nations and territories north and south of the equator, the role of the South Pacific Forum and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It was at this level that I honed my skills focusing on issues that matter (forest over the trees) and subsequent analysis. I relish the dual challenge of framing issues into perspective and writing about them too.

Nationally: Now, let’s peep into a controversial national issue. President Obama touts the Iran Agreement as the pathway to ease tension in the Middle East and deter war for at least a decade. Some are behind it while others see it as an appeasement that failed to effectively stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. He and his team have moved for UN Security Council approval to avoid any tinkering of the document by the US Congress.

“This foolishness is not merely a matter of bad judgment. This sort of epic folly is only the product of a hubris that sees such minor matters as insignificant when compared to the chance to make history”, according to Jonathan Tobin of Commentary Magazine. The agreement has wedged wider divide between Obama and republicans on Capitol Hill.” National politicians must wrestle the new agreement and dispose of it.

At Home: We don the facade of everything’s fine in paradise struggling to hide a bad case of a virulent flu from the vicious infection known as “bankruptcy”. We move pennies, nickels and dimes here, there and everywhere prompted by the lack of new sources of revenue. Is the setback one of lack of revenues or lack of prudence in spending? Do we slight the issue with mediocrity once more? We’re caught flat-footed once more on this issue. Therefore, we must resolve the debt-laden fiscal posture of the NMI. If need be, a “meet and confer” weekly meeting should be held among elected officials to keep abreast of the fiscal temblor downstairs.

The fiscal paralysis has disabled our paying CUC over $30 million in utility debts, serious social problems with methamphetamine or ice throughout our community, and other obligations relating to education and healthcare services. Understanding the need for more isn’t difficult. It’s in divvying the limited resources available that is woefully hard.

Moreover, the stagnant salaries of over ten years aren’t helping families either. Would this situation improve over the short-term? It’s a tough query best hurled at those who promised brighter tomorrows at the campaign trail in the last election. I seriously doubt that any of the elected officials really have the coconuts to discuss what may have gone wrong or if they have plans to ease village level hardship. Did someone say “solutions driven?”

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Reset paradigms: Though a retiree, there’s room to lure anchor investments including the long-term benefits of alternative energy. Whatever the undertaking may be, it isn’t an “instant soba” case but a definite state issue that requires a set of plans from A-Z.

The need to spur lasting investments has become dire. Though there may be plans for this purpose on the wings, how does the NMI navigate US Immigration mandate that we replace all guest workers by 2019? It’s a nightmare for leadership and it must move in now. “The tide waits for no man.”