I love my Puerto Rico with all my heart, but I must admit that our Puerto Rican Flag is just an American Flag "wannabe". Look at the colors: RED, WHITE and BLUE, they are in the same order as the American Flag. Even the Flag of my wife's country: El Salvador, is more original than our Puerto Rican Flag. [And even the old "Grito de Lares Flag" is just a Dominican Flag in disguise, but I think this last FACT flies way over your head, sonny
.]
About my patriotism, dear "nene", you don't know the tree you are climbing on.
We ESTADISTAS
don't want to sell our country, WE WANT TO PAY OUR OWN EXPENSES. Until now Puerto Rico has been taking money for free from American Taxpayers [and I am one of these TAXPAYERS since I paid $10,000 in Federal Taxes last year, and this year 2000 it will probably climb to $15,000]. It is time to stop being "arrimados
" and becoming FULLY CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS of this Nation that has given us BILLIONS for FREE.
Besides, what I want for my PEOPLE is FULL political power in Washington: SEVEN Congressmen bidding OUR INTERESTS
. If this isn't patriotic pride then the sky must be the color RED.
Like it or not, WE THE PUERTO RICAN PEOPLE are involved with the United States right to the BONE. Even some independentista leaders are not "Native" Puerto Ricans, but adopted Anglo-Americans [like their candidate for San Juan mayor]. Fully HALF of ALL Puerto Ricans live HERE in the USA. There are MORE Puerto Ricans in the USA than Cuban exiles. The only other Hispanic group that outnumbers us here in the USA are Mexicans, and they share close to 2000 miles of common borders with the USA, and much more history with the USA than us Boricuas.
To cut our ties and relationship with the USA would be the same as separating two SIEMESE twins by killing one of them. Guess who would die sweety pie
. But, as I have seen here, you separatistas tend to think that money comes "magically" from a black box in Washington, so it is no surprise that you think that Puerto Rico can create money OUT OF NOWHERE and be rich by becoming independent.
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Manuel Alonso