NMD-ism is nationalism promoting the pride of the Chamolinian Nation
-
05 Oct 2014
- By Ambrose M. Bennett
THE NMI Democratic Party feels that it is important to clarify various concerns about the NMDs and the Party.
We believe it is important for voters to understand NMD-ism and how it is directly aligned with Nationalism and nationalist movements we have seen in many countries and throughout history. Nationalism or Patriotism is: loyalty and devotion to a nation: a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations, which is what the NMDs and the Democratic Party are promoting. There is nothing wrong with promoting Nationalism and being patriots of the CNMI. The challenge has always been to do it without infringing upon the rights of others in the community.
Many of the NMDs and the Democratic Party realize they may have been overzealous and overprotective of the plight of Locals’ cultural and land preservation which was perceived as racist. I even previously attacked them but it was from the wrong perspective of their efforts being Political and Social Superiority driven when it was really about Nationalism. However, by putting this matter in the proper perspective of Nationalism and Nation Building we can then construct a plan and a means to promote the Nationalism of the Chamolinian People without it being misconstrued as racism.
Finally, we should take note that when the Nationalist in the Philippines and Japan rose up and demanded that America “get-out” their rights were respected. The NMDs and the Democratic Party are simply promoting the RIGHTS of the NMDs who are CNMI Nationals under the Covenant as a Nation of People who existed BEFORE joining the American Family and that certain things related to their existence and culture need to be respected and retained for the Chamolinian Nation as we see with the different American Indian Tribes. Nationalism is a good thing for the Local People that needs to be established in a more formal Political and Social state of existence to insure the integrity of the Chamolinian Nation remains in tack throughout time. Only the Democrats are promoting the preservation of the Chamolinian Nation which is vital to the future politics and the survival of the cultures’ social fiber with the strength and stability to maintain a Chamolinian Nation.
In effect, the NMDs and the Democratic Party are trying to UNITE and SUSTAIN a Nation of Chamolinian People as ONE nation. The problem is the Chamorros(u) and Carolinians were never united as ONE Nation of People and there were even separate Chiefs over each island. The misfortunate mistake of never uniting the Chamorro people under ONE chief as one Chamorro Nation has been the biggest contributing factor to the many divisions between the Local people today that spans form cultural differences, language differences and the differences in the political plights of the Chamorro people on Guam and in the NMI. But we have a chance to create a stronger and more united Chamolinian Nation that will make life better for ALL citizens.
The failure to create a Chamolinian Nation has handicapped the NMI, confused the purpose and perception of the NMDs and what the objectives should be which delayed progress throughout the entire Marianas in many ways, socially, politically and economically. The alleged racism of NMDs and Democrats that I was even part of was misguided and focused solely on the American Nation side of the equation when in reality there is a Chamolinian Nation on the other side of the equation. The problem has been perceived by many locals and mainlanders as being about the Commonwealth when the focus still needs to be on the Chamolinian Nation of People that now occupy the NMI – the 25 years growth period in the Covenant Agreement was not long enough. Using improper terms of slang like local and outsider also didn’t help to make this matter more civil and academic and in fact contributed to the confrontation and lack of any progress to build a Chamolinian Nation of people. If anything, we have created a Chamolinian Nation of People who can’t wait to leave for the mainland where they can have a real chance to live out their Chamolinian-American Dream because we have failed to set the conditions here in the CNMI for the American Dream to become a reality, however, the Democrats intend to change these conditions and fix it for all citizens.
There is also the fact that the Political segregation between Guam and the NMI has all but severed any hope of the Chamorro People ever uniting as a Chamorro Nation under one chief but the NMI Chamorros actually got a break and a new chance from the migration of the Carolinians to the Marianas. The NMI has evolved to become both Chamorro and Carolinian to such a high degree that the “YOUTH” of the NMI actually came up with a new found name and direction for the Local People – Chamolinian! The NMI has been pursuing the enrichment of both Local cultures but we have failed in establishing the proper infrastructure for cultural education, maintenance of the culture for new words and etc. and for Local economic prosperity.
There has also been a serious debilitating factor with many locals not being Good Stewards of the NMI’s economic foundations by not building successful businesses and leasing their businesses and land so they can move to the mainland. We must reverse this trend by promoting Nationalism and Civic Virtue as leaving the CNMI to live only serves to defeat the purpose of Local ownership and Local stewardship of the CNMI. One clear example of this debilitating factor can be verified as almost all the stores and businesses at one time had Local names and were owned and operated by locals. But that trend has totally changed to foreigners from S. E. Asia being the owners and operators of most stores and businesses. The majority of businesses are not owned by Locals anymore so to some extent, Locals have been their own worst enemy in creating a workforce and building a Locally Owned Economic Base of businesses by leaving. The desire and trend of Locals to want to build a Local business and put Local people to work is a true sense of Nationalism that we witnessed with Joeten and a few other Local businesses. A sense of Nationalism has been lagging behind the times due to the wrong approach and the Democrats want to change this phenomenon by promoting NMDs more in the business sector which is the purpose of the MPLT Funds that are meant to help Locals succeed in Business, Cultural Preservation and Life in general, not to pay CUC debts.
If we compare the Chamolinian Nation with the Cherokee Nation’s Rights or any other Indian Nation’s Rights in America it is easy to see the Chamolinian Nation deserves the same or similar rights that is shared by other Native Americans as the Chamolinians are TRUE Native Americans of the Marianas, just the last to become part of America. On an Indian Reservation ONLY Indians live there and race or equality is not an issue but for the CNMI where everyone is not of the Chamolinian Nation it is very easy for the appearance of racism to surface which has been very misleading in the CNMI. Addressing the delicate issue of Nationalism has been a learning experience for the NMDs and the Democratic Party. But we are now hopeful this explanation will help citizens to understand that the NMDs and the Democratic Party are not racist but simply promoting the Pride and Integrity of the Chamolinian Nation – it’s called Nationalism, not racism. We ask you to consider; if not the NMDs and the Democrats promoting the preservation of the cultures & lands, entrepreneurship, jobs and good wages for the Chamolinian Nation – then who, because the other 3 Governor Candidates are NOT, and if not now – then when? Vote Democrat in November and Be Happy for Locals and the future of everyone living in the CNMI.
PS: The Democratic Party offers KUDOS and Thanks to ROXANNE Diaz, former director of Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation’s Public Health Division, and Dr. Lisa Linda Natividad of Guam for representing the Chamorro and Refalawasch people in the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 22-23. The indigenous people of the Marianas deserve the same rights and protection of the indigenous culture and lands granted to the indigenous Native American Indians which the Democrats will fight for in Congress and in the United Nations if elected.
The writer is the public information officer of the NMI Democratic Party.
