Achokka' ti ya-hu i states, suette yu' didide'
I guess I'm lucky now, because, now when I complain about the US presidential election, it might actually mean something. On Guam such conversations, which pretend I'm a clear and corporated part of America seem stupid and pointless. Talking American politics on Guam is ridiculous, but unavoidable. We are taught them in school, we are informed of them through the media, so its natural that alot of people would import the terminology, the issues and so on into Guam. (I was speaking on the radio once, and I was accused of being a "left liberal," I couldn't stop laughing, because if you were to actually look at the ways ideas are structuring on Guam, the imported spectrum of "left liberal" and "right conveservative" doesn't work the same way. When I'm in the mainland, I am resolutely a leftist liberal anarchist. On Guam I'm a Chamorro, that's about it.)
While obviously we should know these things, they shouldn't be the politics which we hook ourselves to, whether in loyalty or through ideology. Guam has its own politics, its own government, its own system. Alot of times, we find it hard to remember that. When people compare the US Federal or States governments to Guam, they are forgetting that. They are forgetting that GovGuam is different than the feds, different than the state of California, or the municipality of Long Beach.
I bring all of this up because while I was on Guam, bashing Bush, and boosting Kerry it was very obvious to me that a change in the Commander and Chief wouldn't affect Guam much, and definitely not in the ways I wanted. Both Bush and Kerry are increasing the size and scope of the US military. Neither of them would give the decolonization of Guam any serious consideration. On Guam, although no one cared, I found myself pushing for Ralph Nader. (BIBA RALPH, sigi ha' hu guaiya hao achokka' guaha matakpangi hao ni' bandisou yan traitor.)
But now that I'm back in the states, I'm surrounded by Bush hatred (and despensa i chatfino' Bush love). I see clearly how the differences between the two (although when matched against my politics and beliefs) are sometimes small, they can have huge impacts. So now, that I'm back in the states, and I talk out against Bush and for Kerry, I don't find myself thinking, "lana, kalang manparehu na dos. Taimanu na sina hu na'tunas este gi i hinasso-ku?"
For me Chalmers Johnson put it best as to why he'll support Kerry. "I intend to vote for Kerry because I believe he is the only electable politician in America who might, like Zapatero in Spain, pay attention to public opinion. If we can demonstrate that a majority of the American people want peace, I believe that John Kerry will heed the call."
While obviously we should know these things, they shouldn't be the politics which we hook ourselves to, whether in loyalty or through ideology. Guam has its own politics, its own government, its own system. Alot of times, we find it hard to remember that. When people compare the US Federal or States governments to Guam, they are forgetting that. They are forgetting that GovGuam is different than the feds, different than the state of California, or the municipality of Long Beach.
I bring all of this up because while I was on Guam, bashing Bush, and boosting Kerry it was very obvious to me that a change in the Commander and Chief wouldn't affect Guam much, and definitely not in the ways I wanted. Both Bush and Kerry are increasing the size and scope of the US military. Neither of them would give the decolonization of Guam any serious consideration. On Guam, although no one cared, I found myself pushing for Ralph Nader. (BIBA RALPH, sigi ha' hu guaiya hao achokka' guaha matakpangi hao ni' bandisou yan traitor.)
But now that I'm back in the states, I'm surrounded by Bush hatred (and despensa i chatfino' Bush love). I see clearly how the differences between the two (although when matched against my politics and beliefs) are sometimes small, they can have huge impacts. So now, that I'm back in the states, and I talk out against Bush and for Kerry, I don't find myself thinking, "lana, kalang manparehu na dos. Taimanu na sina hu na'tunas este gi i hinasso-ku?"
For me Chalmers Johnson put it best as to why he'll support Kerry. "I intend to vote for Kerry because I believe he is the only electable politician in America who might, like Zapatero in Spain, pay attention to public opinion. If we can demonstrate that a majority of the American people want peace, I believe that John Kerry will heed the call."
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