To the youth and young at heart—seize the day!

Today I want to talk to you, the youth and young at heart regardless of age, about our future. The CNMI is suffering. Our adult leaders cannot figure out how to stop the tailspin we are in. They are clutching at anything in their desperation. However the answers do not lie in begging for more government money, casinos, or some other pie-in-the-sky scheme.

They fail to see that the only true remedy is that you and I must return to working our islands whether it is in the fields, shops and in other kinds of occupations. Government alone is unable to improve our lives. They only continue to suffocate us. We, ourselves, must turn things around by getting involved. Governments do not solve problems. People do!

Therefore I am appealing to you—the youth and young at heart—to seize the day! Reach out and rebuild our economy. Those of us who want a better future must turn our back on government jobs and enter the private sector to begin the real labor of rebuilding our country.

There over 3,000 commercial licenses in the CNMI. How many of these belong to us the local people? We should be the shop owners and restaurant cooks. We should turn our idle soil into a productive one. We can produce thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetable monthly if we tried. Why aren’t we competing in this commercial market place? There are many opportunities once we begin our search.

We, the youth and young at heart, must step up and begin to compete or expect to be subservient and in a depressed economical state forever. There are many of us in the community capable of taking up the challenges. Begin standing up and do it!

The other day a young man attending an off-island college had a good write-up in our local newspaper about how he wishes to change events in the CNMI upon his return. One of his quotes stated: “ I want to go back to Saipan and reform the very broken political system there….I want employment in the Northern Marianas Island to be based on what you know, not on who you know.” How many of us harbor that deep desire yet is afraid to speak out? Please step forward! You are the new heartbeat and pacemaker of our future.

To begin our education on this endeavor, I am strongly recommending that we read the two following books: “Do It! Let’s Get Off Our Buts!” by Peter McWilliams. This book readily explains that excuses are our biggest handicaps. A must reading for motivation!

The other book is “The World is Flat” by Thomas L Friedman. He explains what technology is doing to our world. Because of this ever advancing technology, every hiccup is immediately heard and felt around the world. We cannot remain in our cocoon any longer. The CNMI, is no longer a remote Pacific Island, but is part of the league of nations.

This year is an election year. Have any of us considered running for office? The CNMI needs youthful thinkers and doers. Please consider the possibility of running for office. No, we are not too young nor inexperienced. All we need is a plan and lots of passion. Seriously consider running for an elected office. We may just win!

Our present officials are unable to come up with any ideas which will improve our society except to try to shove casinos down our throats without any justification. There are many opportunities awaiting us but they must be viewed from a different perspective. It is time to seize the day. We the youth must strive to make tomorrow better. Our elders have failed us! Every election we hear the same old stories how they will change things. Why didn’t they do that the first time around?

It is time that we the youth step forward. How many of us know that young elected officials between the ages of 18 and 35 represent 4.8 percent of all elected leaders in congressional, gubernatorial, legislators and city and county commissions. Look up the young Congressman Marco Rubio of Florida or Mike Lee of Utah, both young legislators but dynamic leaders.

We can even run for mayor at the age of 25. There is Mayor Christopher Seeley from Pennsylvania who is only 18 years old. Paul L. Reyes from Texas is only 21 years old. Jeremy Wilson from Texas is only 24. How about Justin Seese from Penna. at 19 years old and Michael Sessions also 18 years old! Why can’t we also challenge the system?

I realize that many of us would like to run for office but fear that their parents will not approve. Tell your parents that you do respect them but you will have to respect them disrespectfully. Our community needs you. Think what you could do to improve things upon being elected!

We could motivate the people to work harder. We could join forces with the business community. It is a proven fact that government and business must play a complementary role in our society. They must work hand in hand for all its citizens to prosper.

Remember the voting age begins at 18 years old. Think of all the votes from young people in college, working in businesses, Americans living here, and young U.S. citizens born here of foreign parents. Add the number of older voters fed up with the present circumstances, and you may have more votes than you realize voting for us the youth. We certainly cannot do worse than now. It is better to try and fail than not try and know defeat without trying.

I am reminded of the youthful Tina Sablan who ran successfully for the Legislature and won. Had she had more members in the Legislature about her age and passion for improving our country, we may not be in the situation we find ourselves in. Wouldn’t it be great if she and some of us would run together? Think of it–the youth brigade to the rescue!

If you have any inkling to run for office, begin by contacting other youthful leaders around the United States either on Facebook or other web pages. Talk to them to find out what motivated them and the difficulties they had to overcome to succeed. It is not the amount of money we will spend, but our drive and passions that will make us succeed. Should any of us find the courage to run for political office this year and need guidance, I and others are willing to assist. Just call me. You, the youth, have great fresh ideas needed to bring change.

Come, little eagles, let’s break our chains and fly high and touch the sky. We can soar above the clouds and see below a broad vision. If we don’t soar now, don’t whine at what may happen later!

Plato, the Great Greek philosopher stated: “Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.” And Mahatma Gandhi, the great Indian leader, once stated: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

This is my plea for the week. Will it fall on deaf ears or on eager young hearts? Run for office! Run like never before!

Oh, well, at least let’s share our great big SMILE with everybody we meet. At most, we will get a big SMILE back. Show our lovely teeth with a giant grin. Remember a SMILE a day keeps the doctor away. So SMILE! SMILE! And have a great week.