Self-determination is not new. It has been the desire of a lot of people on the island for a long time. There are those who have called Guam their home for as long as I have been around. Others have been here since they were born and are Chamorro with a set of Chamorro parents to prove it. I think as long as there are people around who think a self-determination vote should be held, it should be done.
A popular choice that comes up in surveys once in a while is statehood. I don’t really think that selection will ever see the time of day in the United States Congress. First off, there will be those in places with a far greater population than Guam who will object, saying they don’t want many of the things they have in the states offered to the people of Guam. And in the upper house you can be sure there will be those against it because a state is entitled to two U.S. Senate seats. If we are having trouble with the status we have with our congressional delegate, what makes us think we will ever amount to much?
The status quo, for some reason, is the option of choice for many. It seems there are many people satisfied with that. The odd thing, however, is that even though there are a great many people on Guam who say they prefer the status quo, seldom are they able to say specifically what it is they prefer about the status quo.
FELIX AGUON
Quezon City and Guam
for a while longer
