STATE HOOD OR COMMON-WEALTH

[dioclecianoayala]

A puerto rican is a puerto rican as long as he believes he is and no one can take that away from him unless he him self denied's it.

[keia]

i identify with Diocleciano´s response, and i think that is what we should all be aware of as we shift our concentration to more pressing issues, like learning to work all together, fighting corruption, fixing up this precious island. It seems to me that people have lost focus on what´s important (raising our quality of life; progress), and have narrowed themselves simply to finding more and more arguments to support their point of view on what would be the "correct" political status; ignoring how crime and corruption and division among the people is destroying us at a terrifying rate. We may be forgetting that the real work to be done is not to convince the nation through strong words, but though actions. Actions that show to the nation our strengths, our culture, our self-respect, our unity, our intelligence, our ability to fend for ourselves with pride regardless of whether some other nation wants to be there for us or not. We need to support our sense of pride with actions. We don´t necessarily need to wait for someone else to define our political status in order to then start working from there for a better quality of life on the island, if we are sure that no matter what, every single cell in our body is and will always be puertorrican. i think we are perfectly capable RIGHT NOW of assuming our responsabilities as the cultural entity that we are and working towards our own progress regardless of what´s the status, and once we create the strong nation we want, the political status needed to maintain the high quality of life we have attained, will be self evident. Quite frankly i am tired of listening to certain groups try to convince the nation that we are too weak a people to stand for ourselves and need a "parent nation" to look over us as if we were children; i´m tired of being frequently reminded by other groups how we are so weak minded that we will allow a brain-washing from another country to destroy our culture; and i´m tired of yet other groups placing secondary issues such as sports and beauty pageants over more crucial issues such as our quality of life and economy when examining the best alternative for our island´s progress. These arguments may work to convince people to think their way on status, but they also destroy our sense of self-worth, self-respect, and are downright degrading, especially when we start believing them. We may be able to work it out perfectly fine as an independent nation because we´ll have our self-determination, or we may be able to work it out fine as another U.S. state because we will have found the way to absorb the best of a foreign culture without destroing our own. But if we sit around to wait on which one of the two is going to happen, we´re going to get nowhere. We need to start working NOW, as the puertorricans that we are, on a way to strengthen the island´s economy NOW, on ways to unify the people NOW, on ways to raise our quality of life NOW, and once that ground has been won, we will know if the goal was acheived because we worked as an independent nation or because we worked in cooperation with another nation.Then, not only will we be a stronger people, but the necessary political status will be self-evident to everyone.

[sheilajom]

I just have one comment. Has anyone been to Miami Florida lately? If you have, then you will know that you will never lose your language or your culture unless you choose to on your own! And no one will even try to take it away from you. Each state is unique and different, and that's what makes the US such a great country. The only people who lose sight of their culture are the people who don't care about their culture in the first place! And a second comment, the US has no official language, so you cannot legally be forced to speak English. Just look at how many people in Miami and New York and various other large cities don't speak a word of English all day, yet they work and raise families and exist without any problems!

[F_D_B]

I do not know much about the history of Cuba or of the Dominican Republic, but I believe that PR has a more stable foundation to build independence on. A democratic form of self government is essential to preserve any way of life. As a commonwealth we have been living in our parents home. We have matured and have the potential to live on our own, it is time to move out.

[keeptrying]

Should PR become the 51st state? I've been reading everyone's opinion, and now I have to express my own. Why are people saying that the US will make them speak English and take away their culture? It's been 100 years already and spanish is still the major language and the culture has actually expanded (NYC has a huge PR population and every year their are PR festivals and parades), and New Mexico and Hawai'i have two official languages. Louisiana has still retained its french culture,and they have been a state for over 150 years.
I've talked with people here and belive it or not, many are afraid of PR statehood. There are more people in PR then 25 other states which means if PR did come into the union it would have more voting representatives then states like Utah, Delaware, and 17 other states, which means more power in Washington for Puerto Rico. People here are afraid of spanish. It is spoken all over the country. Miami, NYC, Boston, Baltimore, DC, LA, San Francisco, Chicago. Even in the small farming communities. Plus there are a lot more spanish speaking channels, and radio stations then there were 10 years ago. So mainlanders are just as afraid of you and loosing their identity. I've even heard the old "Quebec" story, and how PR will become a Quebec of the USA. Finally they worry about money. Yes, PR will have to pay federal taxes, but how much MORE money will they get in return? I've heard billions more.
On the islanders side, you worry about your culture being over taken. Culture is who we are. It can only be over taken if we let it. After 100 years it is still flurishing.
I really have mixed feelings about the status of PR. My representatives all told me it won't happen anytime soon as well. Part of me thinks PR should be a state, part of me thinks the US should just give it independence (this I think for selfish reasons, because NY would get a lot more money). As for commonwealth, it can't last forever.
Until the people of the Island come together as one voice then PR will retain its limbo status. The people came together for Viequez, and they were heard around the world. Everyone needs to speak with one clear voice. Because now all we can hear is a lot of static.

[This message has been edited by keeptrying (edited 13 December 1999).]

[EL_BORICUA]

PUERTO RICO SHOULD NEVER BECOME A STATE IT WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE
UNITED STATES WE ARE A LATIN AMERICAN PEOPLE NOT AN ANGLO-AMERICAN PEOPLE WE WILL LOOSE OUR CULTURE AND LANGUAGE,STATEHOOD IS ADVOCATED MISGUIDED PEOPLE WHO ARE AFRAID OF
OF DOING ANYTHING WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF
WASHINGTON THEY ARE JUST A BUNCH OF YES MEN
AND WOMEN SUFFERING FROM A PARANOIA OF A RED THREAT THAT DOES NOT EXIST I'M SURE COOLER
HEADS IN THE U.S.CONGRESS WILL SEE THAT STATEHOOD BENEFITS NO ONE AND THEY WILL DENY
IT THEN WE CAN GET THESE STATEHOODERS TO HELP
US BUILD A BETTER INDEPENDENT PUERTO RICO

[guarionex05]

FRIST, PUERTO RICANS ARE NOT LATIN AMERICANS.GEOGRAFICLY.WE ARE HISPANICS YES
SO ANY WAY DO YOU THINK THAT LATIN AMERICA GIVES A F****** ABOUT WHAT PUERTO RICO IS. THEY ARE FIGTHING EACH OTHER DOWN THERE.TAKE PERU AND AQUADOR AND ALL THE BORDER COUNTRY HAVE SOME LITTLE WAR THAT WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT ON THE NEW.EVERY COUNTRY IS SEPARATE WHY CAN'T THEY UNITE.AND YOU WHAT PUERTO RICO TO BECOME THE NEW KID IN THE CELLBLOCK?