An ‘only-when-we-have-to’ attitude

One of my daughters asked me, “Why does our government only do things when they have to and not when they are supposed to?” You know, kids ask the best questions and I thought the answer deserved sharing and amplifying, which is why you are reading it. There are many factors that contribute to the answer but the prevailing factor has been the desire to maintain the “traditional” status quo mentality under a capitalistic economic system that requires the CNMI to grow and be competitive with global markets. Simply put, our attitude has determined our low altitude.

The desire to maintain outdated philosophies is the force driving the delaying efforts of our government to find progress. There are people and politicians still trying to promote the philosophy of indigenous superiority, which is nothing more than another wall of social imperialism negatively affecting the social fiber of the CNMI and our relationship with the feds. There are people and politicians who find it easier to assert blame on “outsiders” and the feds instead of looking in the mirror and finding some solutions. There are people and politicians who place culture before anything and use it as an excuse in government, which is contrary to our democratic system that is supposed to represent people regardless of their race, color or religion. There are people and especially politicians who are still putting personal politics, family and friends before what is good for the entire CNMI—a severe shortage of civic virtue. There are those who seem to think the Chamorro philosophy of “little by little” is the way to handle the growth of our economy, when the global markets require that we act expeditiously—that’s why we are so far behind today. I could go on with more attitude challenges but I’m sure the message is clear: We need to change our attitude to gain some economic and political altitude.

I was glad to see Article 12 has finally started to get the attention it deserves because I personally believe it is one of the biggest inhibitors to economic prosperity for the CNMI. We are literally delaying progress by just waiting for 2011 to vote on Article 12—a not-until-we-have-to attitude. Does Article 12 have to be another issue that we will only address when we have to? I’m sure every economist in the world that understands our present economic situation will agree that if we are going to deal with Article 12 in 2011, it would be far better to resolve it now and not later. So will we address the major issue hindering our success now or wait until we have to?

It should be clear to everyone that we need an era of reforms in the CNMI if we are to truly find prosperity, and that requires a new attitude and new approach. The global economy and national politics are two serious games that we had better learn and commit to playing or we will continue to be on the outside looking in and hoping for a chance or handout. We can’t make up our own rules that defy the American principles and economic components for success and expect the feds, investors and the world to play by our rules—it ain’t happening. I can only hope that our Legislature has learned from the lessons that brought federalization to our doorsteps and that they will have the vision and wisdom to put a resolution on Article 12 on the ballot in the 2009 election so we don’t have to wait until 2011—or should I say until the feds are forced to make us? It will take only one person to file a federal lawsuit to get the feds to change Article 12 after 2011 if the people don’t correct this conflict with the U. S. Constitution. I’m sure people know how significant it would be to our economy and to our working relationship with the federal government if we fixed Article 12 ahead of schedule.