‘Yes, I was in the arena’

In response to John S. DelRosario Jr. who reverted to personal characterization of me, I seriously doubt that he even knows the definitive interpretation of the vocabularies he used even if such words were to creep up and bite him on his behind. Half-cocked, you said? I suppose if my half-cocked assessment bothered you that much, then I can’t wait to hear how bothered you’d get when I do revert to a “fully-cocked mode.”

As for seeking a scapegoat or a miracle to blame for the mess we’re in instead of offering concrete solutions, here again you missed the boat entirely. You quoted President TD i.e., “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” Yes, I was in the arena, unlike yourself. In 1999 I had both the wits and grit to run as a candidate for elected office, knowing that this would cost me countless long hours of public speaking appearances and huge sums of my own personal funds, but I accepted both the challenge and financial burden. And not only did I personally present a viable and workable platform that identified the source of critical problems facing our Commonwealth but, more importantly, I offered solutions for positive change both verbally and in written form. Where were you then, and can you claim the same daring wits and grit for yourself with respect to actually identifying problems and simultaneously offering solutions for our Commonwealth? I seriously doubt it.

Further quoting your phrase from President TD i.e.; “in the end, at least he failed while daring greatly,” I repeated the same process of running again for public office in 2001, 2003, and lastly, in 2005; wherein I consistently offered and presented both the cause of our internal problems as well as my agenda for addressing them within my platform. And yes, I again spent countless long hours of public speaking appearances and huge sums of my personal funds each time I accepted the challenge to run. Where were you again during our senatorial debates, and why weren’t you offering solutions like the other candidates and I were doing during the two separate debates that I’ve participated in? And don’t make excuses like you weren’t running for public office as we were, because excuses are like rear-ends: Everybody has one. Furthermore, it does not require one to run for public office in order to offer solutions to our problems. Did I possess the wit and grit to actively participate in offering solutions? I most certainly did. On the other hand it is you, amigo, who was always searching for a scapegoat to blame for the mess that we’re in, both then and now. And while I never became victorious in my bids, to paraphrase the quote above, “in the end, at least I failed while daring greatly.” Surely you can’t conspire to such a claim yourself. Yet you have the audacity to discredit me concerning not offering any solutions.

By the way, your assertion of my having difficulties assimilating into the usually protracted democratic process, heck amigo, I had long been a full-fledged U.S. citizen involved in both democratic governance and processes when you were still under alien status vying for your political union with the United States and utilizing your “green-document” to enter the island of Guam. So don’t flatter yourself too much. While countless other military veterans and I were serving our country to preserve peace around the world throughout the Vietnam era and beyond, where were you then and why weren’t you in the arena as we were?

Last but certainly not the least, if you ever again decide to criticize or discredit others on a personal level, I strongly suggest that you initially reflect upon you own shortcomings first.

Jack T. Quitugua
Garapan, Saipan