BIG show host (Newstalk K-57) Travis Coffman makes the point (March 16, 2007) that it is quite difficult to criticize someone once you get to know them. And he is right – as usual.
For example, it is difficult for me to really go after Speaker Forbes because not only he looks like my late uncle but he played football (soccer) with me 20 years ago even if it was for just a few minutes (He kicked me in the shin; “roughhoused” you might say and split. He also kicked me to “remind me” that earlier kick when I was at a public hearing in ’88 when he was Joe Ada’s P/O.)
The point is you don’t even have to be related to build a bond sorts. And Forbes knows that I’ll never go after him personally or at least without good merit. Coffman’s example was his “icy” relationship, if you will with Sen. Jesse Andersen Lujan, who he meets regularly now that Gold’s Gym has taken over Paradise Fitness; is thawing.
But consider a typical family. Isn’t your family your biggest critic? Of course it is. Or at least it is supposed to be. It is your dad and your mom that will shape you up. And if they don’t, then the problem gets transferred to the schools and elsewhere. So when folks get defensive and say, “Hey, this is Guam” “Everyone is related,” they are making a disingenuous argument because what they are essentially saying is that because we are all family, we cannot or should not hold each other accountable and responsible. Which means the Guam family is dysfunctional at macro level and therefore also at the micro level. (In the states, not enough participate but folks are held accountable and responsible.)
There was a study done by a university in New Zealand, I believe, that showed that in small island states, it is better to have one party instead of two or three dividing the small population like what we have here, I thought to myself. We can get excited and vote GOP but it too is filled with “tax (or borrow) and spend” politicians like it is a crime to tax.
Meanwhile, the educational and health care systems lag (also in the nation with health care costs rising twice as much as inflation; must be “lawyers’ fault” is the propaganda when turning a profit on medicine is the real culprit) and folks anxiety soar leading to more CRIME! Other scapegoats: Union and labor movements and “bad managers” who work to provide a floor for health benefits. Other nations have socialized medicine so their companies can focus on making money.

MATT PHILLIPS
Mangilao, Guam