a person’s name in a bad way. Their arguments were convincing and they never said a bad word about anyone. Their arguments were well thought out and they never mentioned a person’s name in a negative tone. It was very obvious that our children know how to debate issues in public without calling people names and using ugly dialogues.
I wish more members of the general public, especially some of the opinion writers to the newspaper, could have witnessed the intellectual exchange of our premier students. Too often we see opinion letters to the editor with a person’s name for the title and a negative message about the person and very little about the facts surrounding the issue. These unprofessional letter writers would have learned a valuable lesson had they heard our children exchange their views on an intellectual level. Maybe next year more people will attend because everyone that missed it really MISSED IT.
When there is a challenge, it is always easier to say no than to meet the challenge. I say this because all of the students, except two, chose to say NO to reunification with Guam. But it was one of the students that chose to say YES who won the competition. It was not only her stance on the issue that allowed her to win, she was also dynamic, convincing and she was the only one who didn’t read her speech, setting herself apart from the rest of the field. Kudos to Ruby Ann Reyes Venus and to Mt. Carmel coach Galvin Guerrero for a job well done. It should be noted that Mt. Carmel has the most AG Cup championships in the CNMI and I’m sure Mr. Guerrero is the main reason.
I also want to say kudos to Mercilynn Kaneshi for representing Kagman “Ayuyu” High School and winning second place. The entire AYUYU family is very proud of her and it was an honor to have been her coach — she is truly a future “somebody.”
I also want to thank the Attorney General’s Office for continuing with this great competition, which continues to breed quality, and to all the distinguished judges for contributing their valuable time to make the AG Cup one of the most prestigious educational competitions conducted in the CNMI.
Maybe one day we can compete with Guam for the Marianas title if the Guam governor fulfills his promise to start the AG Cup on Guam.
But it was really the wisdom of Guam’s Gov. Felix P. Camacho that prevailed. He began by apologizing for the rejection by the people of Guam when the NMI asked to reunite the first time, which is really the first step toward reunification. It was obvious he realizes the ultimate power of being “one people, one direction” even though he didn’t use those exact words, but that’s what he meant. It was so good to know I’m not alone.
The governor’s pleas to “open the doors, tear down the walls and to keep hope alive for reunification” have set the conditions for the “seed of unity” to finally be planted. The history of the CNMI & Guam, the demographic of the CNMI & Guam, the politics, the economics and social issues are all challenges to statehood that have created a high level of fear, but he is urging us to overcome these fears. He is so right when he said that “fear is paralyzing” and Ruby was so right to “challenge” us to overcome our fears.
Hopefully the CNMI will be able to overcome the fear and the people of Guam will follow the lead of their governor and reach out to their relatives in the CNMI to reunite one day. After all, the federal government is already viewing the Marianas as ONE which is evident in the sharing of Compact funds and now the sharing of the Guam military build-up funds.
Maybe it’s time to apply the old Chamorro philosophy of “little by little” and start building bridges toward unification. Whatever the case, we must move beyond the fear as Ruby referred to in her winning speech — “we have nothing to fear but fear itself,” says Franklin D. Roosevelt. One people, One Direction for One Marianas
AMBROSE BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
