Many of the world leaders and activist for what is right and fair have found themselves alone in their stance so that really puts her in very good company with some great people. You, Tina, are ahead of the times and some of your own people have frowned on you for wanting to treat EVERYONE fairly and equally but I want to commend you for being “real people” as we say in my culture and that’s a BIG complement for those of you who are not familiar with my language of Ebonics.
But what really got my attention was the “discriminatory” allocation of funds to double the Little League funding. I don’t have anything against baseball or the Little League but we already have baseball fields EVERYWHERE! Furthermore there is NO justification for another baseball field when we have plenty of baseball fields and there are so many other needs associated with other sports and the thousands of other youth that DON’T play baseball. We have entire school regions in the North, South and in Kagman that need sports facilities and the funny part is that the only sports facility they did build in these villages was Baseball fields — duh. Now they want another one on Navy Hill where the community is insufficient to support the need for a new field. I’m sure people with common sense can see it is not fair and it’s clearly wrong to the other kids.
I really think the Legislature is unaware of the phenomenon they have played into because baseball was the first American sport to truly be assimilated into the indigenous cultures to become a leading “past time” activity. Baseball has become a part of the culture in the CNMI and now the Legislature is “overcompensating” for this phenomenon. Many of the people in the Legislature grew up playing baseball and not the other sports so what do they know to do but more baseball? But balance is a very important factor or variable in every aspect of human nature and our existence as a community. If you compare baseball to other sports it is clear the Legislature has discriminated toward the other sports in favor of baseball for years.
The time has come for the CNMI to start shifting the focus to other sports and to pursue the model that so many other island countries and nations have pursued to get their athletes into the Olympics. When will the CNMI make a quest for the gold and I wonder if the thought of getting a CNMI athlete into the Olympics has ever crossed their minds? I’ve said for years that “diving may give us our first gold in the Olympics” if we can ever get our children off the dock and put up a diving board for them with a coach but who cares in the Legislature. If the CNMI was turning out baseball stars like we see with Cuba I wouldn’t be writing this but we aren’t. Now my own daughter is showing promise and I want to see an Olympian from the CNMI in any sport and I’m not alone as my wife might say. It’s common sense we need to change our focus and it’s the Legislature’s job to set the conditions for ALL of our children to be successful in whatever sport that pursue beyond baseball.
But with baseball being so big in the CNMI the most obvious adverse affect is the politics associated with baseball. Hundreds of families are now associated with baseball in the CNMI and that means “votes” — enough to sway an election. I don’t need to say anymore about the mentality of the Legislature and why they want more baseball fields after mentioning the most powerful word in politics — vote with an s at the end. When we had money they chose a baseball field on Capital Hill over the construction of a new governor’s office and a legislative building which are outdated, insufficient and falling apart. I discovered over $30,000 from the lottery that was just sitting and asked the Legislature to give it to teachers but they took the money and dumped it into a baseball field on Capital Hill. So you can see baseball is more important than our teachers and now baseball is being prioritized during these hard times and with no consideration for the other students that don’t play baseball — BASTA ENOUGH BASEBALL FIELDS! I’m sure people with common sense can see the problem but if you don’t have common sense I will pray for you.
When it comes to sports in the CNMI the Legislature really needs to focus on setting the conditions for a variety of sports activities beyond baseball in the communities where there are schools and where the children live. I’ve mentioned before how difficult it is on parents in Kagman to have children participating in sports and now the price of gas had added an additional financial burden. The children and parents of Kagman, Southern and Northern end of Saipan need legislative prudence and not legislative discrimination. One People One Direction for more sports facilities in the villages.
On a special note: Congratulations are also due to Mr. Ed Propst for making the “activist list” for the CNMI. His letter of disappointment about the prejudice he has faced all because he is trying to make a difference is synonymous with the same challenges I have faced as an activist on social, economic and political issues facing the community. If you weren’t getting any negative feed back you probably wasn’t very affective. However, you are, and it simply means you are gaining social and political real estate that members of the “ruling social class” will always reject. It doesn’t matter that you are right; it’s the fact that you are not one of them. But just keep sowing the “good seeds” because time is your friend if you stay the course and don’t be discouraged by haters your seeds will grow. Time will catch up to the haters and prove you right in the end just like it did for me in the 2001 prediction I made about our economy, social issues, the politics of the CNMI, PRAXIS & teacher relations and education in general — I even had teachers I was trying to help fighting against me so don’t feel bad Ed.
Welcome to the club and I’m glad to see more people being vocal about the destruction of this Social Imperialist Wall that is still being perpetuated by a few but powerful who want to separate and place the indigenous people above everyone else in the CNMI. The challenge is BIG because there is still enmity between the Chamorros of Guam and the CNMI so what does that say about an “outsiders” chances? But just remember and stick to your guns Ed because it takes only two keys to open the doors for a transparent and responsible government to deliver prosperity and equality for everyone in the CNMI —“informed & active citizens,” Federalist Papers by James Madison, John Jay & Alexander Hamilton. We (Tina, Ed, me and others) are in good company and history has already proven us right so keep sowing the good seeds Ed they are growing! One CNMI for One People
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
