Simply put, conservatives are against change and liberals are for change. The amazing thing about this is we have citizens and leaders on both sides who seem to think their philosophy is the ONLY solution when in reality we need the application of both schools of thoughts to maintain a balance in all aspects of society and government while continuing to grow and change — a lesson that has been taught over and over again in America’s history classes. Master politicians have mastered the art of unifying these schools of thoughts on issues in the past but technology and the media are now making it more and more difficult as each school of thought is getting equal exposure to the masses.
The art of persuasion is giving way to the science of politics that is based on real facts and phenomena in society. But unlike on the mainland we still have people in the CNMI who will buy the “pie in the sky” and unsupported rhetoric of losing the culture over facts and reality — they are the ultra-conservatives. But there is another group of people in the CNMI who realize that changes must be made to improve our relationship with the feds, our economic condition and our quality of life — they are the liberals. Both sides have valid concerns but they can’t balance the issues facing the CNMI because neither side wants to compromise — that’s just not how our political system works. The failure to change is also why we are still cutting cost and cutting jobs some five years into the present administration. To make it worse we are still fighting loosing battles with the feds and we still don’t have a real complete economic recovery plan or programs. Change is clearly not on the agenda and our style of politics, fighting instead of diplomacy, has truly become our biggest enemy.
The wall of Social Imperialism built and supported by conservatives in the CNMI has repelled change and everyone who is not of NMD. I told our leaders in 2001, the WTO would expire in Dec. of 2005, to prepare for the exit of the Garment Industry in 2006 and what happened? No one listened and no one did anything to prepare because the advice came from an outsider. Five years pasted and no one in government did anything and the Garment Industry ended up leaving us high and dry like a thief in the night. The feds told the CNMI about the raising the minimum wage for over a decade and the government didn’t listen and no one in government did anything. In fact, the Legislature created laws to keep minimum wages low. The result has been the loss of our most valuable resource —our children who can’t wait to go to work on the mainland where they can start at a McDonalds for 8.25 an hour. The feds told our leaders for almost a decade to “stop bringing in so many alien laborers” and I can even remember them say “the local people are going to be the political minority in less than fifty years if the CNMI continued to bring in alien workers” but what happened? No one listened to the feds and our leaders even thumbed their noses at the feds by changing the law to allow even more alien workers to enter the CNMI. Now that Federalization has been instituted the conservatives are worried about becoming a minority and its toooooo late — you should have listened. I respect the desire for Indigenous Control and the Invitations to Rally but all the anger that is now being focused at the Federal government should be focused at the CNMI leaders who failed to listen and stop bringing in alien workers but what did we the people do — re-elect them and some are still in office almost a decade latter — duh!
I just find it amazing to see such a show of concern and anger for not being consulted when the Feds have been trying to consult with the CNMI on the issue of Alien Workers for over a decade. The CNMI is only reaping the disrespect we have sown, as respect is a reciprocal phenomenon and respect is something the CNMI has not displayed with the Federal government when it comes to Federal Laws and federal expectations — in other words we asked for it.
Now the conservatives are angry for not being consulted about the status of aliens and even held a rally to protest the Interior’s decision. Had they listened to the Feds they wouldn’t be angry at the Feds for doing what we should have done years ago — close the CNMI doors, keep the aliens that are here as they represent the biggest section of our workforce and many of them are now directly or indirectly tied to the CNMI socially through marriage and births. Many children of Alien workers are our top students and even represent the CNMI nationally and most importantly they represent a big part of our future professional workforce. It is too late to reverse these trends and we must figure out a way that is in the best interest of EVERYONE and not just for the local people — I ask, are we not our brother’s keeper? Fixing our immigration needs is a challenging task the CNMI has ignored and now the Feds are taking the necessary and proper actions to fix our immigration situation and some locals have the audacity to be mad. The saddest part is we still have leaders who are ultra conservatives and they just don’t get it, which leaves the people as a whole stuck in the middle going nowhere fast while they fight and we continue to suffer the consequences economically and socially.
My daughter was so right when she coined our government as a “not until we have to government.” I have often pondered if the problem was our leaders or the people and given the fact the government is of, for and by the people the answer is obvious — the people and our politics is our problem. The people I’m referring to are those who are still living in the past, those who are promoting discrimination in an American Commonwealth, those who want to fight with the hand that literally feeds us, those who refuse to respect the Supreme Law and principles of our nation, those who worship with fellow citizens form the mainland and aliens but want to deny them a home nest door and the possibility of prosperity in the CNMI, those who put only THEIR Culture before everything and everyone like no one else has a culture, those who will use America and Federal Funds for all they can get like a parasite but don’t want to share anything in the CNMI and the list goes on. These are the ultra-conservatives of the CNMI who will fight against change until they HAVE TO give in — the not until we have to attitude.
The history of the CNMI clearly reflects an attitude towards the feds as not listening or doing anything the feds ask until we have to. We are still fighting the feds instead of trying to work with the feds in a symbiotic relationship. I’m sure we would be in a much better situation now if we had listened to the feds a decade ago – now we have to. I do hope the federal government can find a balance to satisfy the majority on both sides of the issue but the lesson should have been learned by now that the next time the Feds try to consult with the CNMI we need to be listening instead of giving them the middle finger figuratively, especially when it is obvious that many of the conservative people can’t take what we dish out. One people one direction for a more liberal government and leaders who will listen and won’t wait until they have to.
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman III, Saipan
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