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What are we afraid of?
Political union with the U.S. was supposed to stop colonial subjugation of these islands. But Governor Inos, in his latest statements about the status commission, seems to be still deeply stuck in the mentality of a colonial subject. Instead of considering the CNMI as a sovereign power that has the right—and indeed the obligation—to negotiate for what is best for itself, Governor Inos sees us islanders as colonial subjects that should be grateful for whatever tiny scraps the U.S. throws us.
Inos thinks small, like a yapping dog grateful for a pat on the head and a biscuit. He’s happy with some food stamps for his political supporters, or a nice park in Garapan. But if we think beyond Inos-smallthink, then we realize that the world is wide open. We don’t have to be America’s yapping pet dog. What’s Governor Inos so scared of? Voting in favor of the new status commission isn’t a vote against associating with the U.S. It’s only a vote in favor of sitting down and thinking about things, and whether we, the native people of these islands, can do better than we’ve done for ourselves with the current relationship. Maybe we can. Why is Inos afraid of even asking the question?
Have we achieved a standard of living equal to that in the U.S. mainland? Nope. Can we vote for President? Nope. Do we even have a real Congressman? Nope. Has any U.S. president even visited us, or mentioned us in a State of the Union address? Nope again. So is it so ridiculous that we might want to sit down and re-evaluate things?
We have a choice. We can follow Governor Inos and be Uncle Sam’s obedient poodle, fearing to even question the master. Or we can assert our basic human and political rights, to simply sit down and evaluate where things are going and whether we can do better. The U.S. isn’t the only game in town. And even if we choose to stay with the U.S., perhaps it can be on better terms than our forefathers were bullied into agreeing to some 40 years ago. If you’re tired of Inos-style smallthink, then this is the only reasonable option.
Henry Rabauliman
Capital Hill, Saipan
