HOUSE Legislative Initiative 13-6, authored by Rep. Pete Castro, resonates the sentiment of a large number of persons. It signifies an action shift from a silenced individual opinion to a more public voice. The anguish of its “cry for help” is echoed in Noel Quitugua’s quest for a cultural village; Article 12; DOLI’s requirement for a percentage of local hire; Herman Sablan’s training of youth in job skills; and Juan L. Babauta’s stress on Megaskills development.
The initiative describes an accelerating sense of urgency to address what some view as unjust, unfair, and unending violations of traditional rights. It is a lament against the paradox inherent in moving from traditionalism to modernism. Instead of receiving the better life many expected in the Americanization process, more often than not the perception of “locals” is that along with the loss of their self-esteem they are being disarmed of their dreams.
Some persons truly experience the fruit of the Covenant as unpalatable and bitter. They see their lives victimized by what has become for them the terror of their decision to unite with the U.S.—a minority in their own home and facing the threat of annihilation. The islands are so filled with grief, fear, pain and anger that powerlessness is an islands-wide obsession.
Certain strategies and activities seem to mostly benefit “outsiders.” Such practices do little to boost for the indigenous a sense of human dignity, or to restore security for their future existence. A broad question is, “Does the traditional have ‘rights’?” This should be aired in public hearings and in CNMI Bar Association sponsored seminars. NMC and Sam McPhetres’s current issues class could take the lead in this in partnership with PSS and in concert with the business and health communities.
We all may learn how feeling politically victimized and emotionally enraged impacts on the rate of suicide, use of drugs, family violence, diabetes and depression, the plight of manamko’, crime, and the resilience of poker parlors and prostitution. We “so-called locals” (coined by Joe Ayuyu) may learn effective principles for partnering efficiently with a great people to fulfill an irrevocable quest to be greater.JOHN B. JOYNER, Ph.D.
Chalan Kanoa, Saipan
