Our dying culture and a democracy that’s blooming next door

I wrote about this once before but nobody seemed to care when I said our democracy was in ICU or in the Intensive Care Unit. Well our democracy died since the last election and needs to be resuscitated in case no one noticed so we continue to travel a treacherous road following “unchecked” leaders who don’t always do the right thing for people. The only check that is being placed on members of the Legislature and the Executive Branch are the checks being made by private citizens, as there is no opposition party on Capitol Hill. America’s democracy was founded on the principle of being an adversarial government that would be self-checking in the separation of powers and by the opposing interest groups that we have come to know as parties. Well, the CNMI in now past halfway into a second decade (18 years) of having a one-party government—meaning we no longer have a true and complete democracy and the democratic process for making laws is dead!

The only embedded principle of democracy that still exist in the CNMI is voting but when there is only one party it really doesn’t make any more sense to vote as everyone on the Hill and everyone running for office is a direct or indirect republican. This is not meant to be against the Republicans but to explain why people are sooooo feed up with our government and expressing their concern for corruption being everywhere. So I ask, why do we have only one party to represent the people? If you are expecting me to bash the GOP, I’m not because some of the things they have done are good, they just need to be kept in check to make sure things balance for the people. No checks and balance, no democracy it’s just that simple!

I was truly glad to see Reps. Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero and Ralph Yumul place a check by speaking up against the killing of the CUC board because the problem is not the board but the lack of the board operating as a true democracy—it’s the people, not the board. Everyone is a politically appointed agents on the board so the power of political appointment makes matters become personal creating a personality conflict football game instead of solving the challenges and scoring for the people. Everything that CUC and our government does should stand on the merits but most of us with common sense know that is not the case or CUC and our government would be functioning perfectly. The CUC board just needs to function more democratically and professionally as the Guam power situation is blossoming while we are going nowhere and getting nothing done quick fast and in a hurry.

Yes, I am going to talk about the marijuana bill because it also helps to prove my point that the democratic process is dead! Sixto would have never got away with the ugly political play he made with legalization if there had been some Democrats in the Senate but all the senators are Republicans like him so he could figuratively get away with murder and no one would say a thing, especially doing election season. Again, this is not against the GOP, but our local good old boys and girls do need to take a page from the mainland GOP who will speak up when one of theirs is getting out of line. Sixto really screwed the Senate, the lower house, the Executive Branch, the sick and the rest of us around by not doing the work to get it on the ballot.

Guam did at least get something accomplished with legalization because their democracy is alive and well. Guam is really blooming which had a lot to do with the strong two-party system in Guam. The local culture is doing a lot better in Guam as politicians are constantly competing in their campaign on the issue of culture preservation as “competition breeds quality”—thanks to the late but great senator Angel Santos who truly put the local culture in the forefront of Guam’s politics permanently. We talk about culture but don’t do a darn thing while Guam has created an institute and a research center for teaching the culture and a well-developed Chamorro Village with a plethora of cultural sites, event, and activities for tourists. The culture is dying in the CNMI but all our leaders have thought about for improving the CNMI over the past decade has been the casino and nothing else because no one is sitting on the other side of the table to push new and different issues like legalization. The only real check and balance by citizens in the CNMI is the loyal and faithful citizens in the newspaper when their concerns need to be said by someone sitting at the Legislature’s table. Our GOP is not going to self-check its members and we the oeople will never see them fighting each other for us so we will continue to loose like we just lost four years of progress with legalization.

I am not mad at the GOP and in fact I believe some of them are trying to do their best but they need to speak up and get things done! I’m sure there are other ideas and means that are not being considered simply because they don’t come from the leadership in the GOP and that needs to stop. Bi-partisanship is a lost art for our politicians because there is no one on the other side so in a way we the oeople have been setting ourselves for failure on the Hill by not having a Democrat sitting at the table. We have the Covenant Republicans, the regular Republicans, and the independent Republicans but not a single Democrat—heller and people wonder why our government is like it is. Our democracy is dead and many don’t seem to even notice it or do they even care! Many of the local people with degrees who are best qualified to be in office simply take the easy way out and live the life on the mainland and I can’t blame them.

Who will make the sacrifice and step forward in the next election to do something great for the CNMI by running and winning as a Democrat to resurrect our democracy that is headed of the grave—one right person can make a difference. The GOP and the Democrats were magnificent at the conventions, now we need to see what the Democrats will do for the CNMI! I hope readers can now better understand why I was asking for the judges and PSS to say something because there is no one sitting on the other side of the table and the community needs to speak up in the absence of Democratic representation in the Legislature. The courts and PSS are fending for themselves in finding funding when legalization has the potential to be the answer.

But until our democracy is resurrected, us citizens will have to continue in our attempts to place a check on leaders who are not working for the people. If any GOP doesn’t like this blame it all on Sixto because he started this and inspired this playing politics with people like we are stupid and can’t fight back. He may have very well awakened a sleeping giant that could manifest itself in the next election. I’m writing this for the people because non one in the Senate stopped him and they had to know better given they all knew and contributed to the research I conducted for them. The senators are all good people but there is just too much “playing politically safe by avoiding issues and log rolling” when independent thinking and leadership needs to be in the forefront. Now the whole party is being scrutinized over what has become traditional marijuana legislation in America that should have been on the ballot this year with 23 other states—they are literally making us loosers instead of winners! This is not meant to be a slap in the face to the GOP but to wake them up so they will bring their A-game and check their fellow GOP members and to allow others to contribute who are not GOP based on the merits and not the person—it’s called prejudice! Behind closed doors they were more loyal to Sixto than to the people they serve, me and proven research which is the real problem. We the people (patriotic citizens and community leaders) must step up to the challenge and restore our two-party system or we the people are doomed to a dead culture and democracy that’s blooming right next door—wake up and help before it’s too late.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman