Reject federal dependency

Conscientious CNMI residents need to ask themselves the following questions: If the Feds are so intent on imposing a federal takeover, why should we cooperate with the US Census? To pledge our eternal financial dependence on the federal government, as the Office of Insular Affairs would very much want us to do in order to empower their office and further justify their bureaucratic existence?

Why should we fill out our US Census forms? To obey? To go along? To be good little brown welfare state customers of Washington, D.C.? To be grateful wards of the federal government?

CNMI residents should be insulted by the propaganda advanced to encourage us to fill out the census forms. Be good little boys and girls, they essentially enjoin, and fill out your census forms; you will get your government candy in return.

Is there not an individual among us who can tell the federal government: “You can keep your federal money. We don’t want any part of it. Just leave us alone. We want to be free to earn for ourselves and maintain our self-respect as a self-governing and economically vibrant young island territory”?

Make no mistake about it. Al Stayman probably wants you to fill out your US Census forms. Senator Danny Akaka wants you to fill out your US Census forms. Most federal takeover proponents–most of our detractors–want you to fill out your US Census forms. I am sure of it.

The liberal Democrats want to have power over you. They want to have power over our islands. They want to control our very destiny.

The federal government does not want to relinquish its control over our lives. On the contrary, it only wants to expand its influence in our lives–to expand it under the alluring, seductive guise of benevolence. Paternalistic Big Brother almost always presents himself as kindly savior–as Santa Claus himself.

Don’t let them do that to us. Don’t give them the satisfaction of undermining our liberty and autonomy through the irrevocable snare of federal financial dependence. The people of the CNMI must never surrender their precious liberty for the grand illusion of security (federal grants and other such entitlements).

A shrewd US Census taker might skillfully manipulate some of us into voluntary cooperation (submission) by preying on our fears and prejudices. He or she might say, “Be counted or else the Feds might think that there are actually more aliens than locals–and they will thus become even more motivated to take over. Do you really want more Filipinos to be counted on your own island?” Such sharp questioning would no doubt goad some of our more naive local residents into compliance.

Don’t buy into it. The Feds want to take over anyway. Our most hardened detractors–those who want us to comply the most–will certainly not be deterred by your cooperation with the US Census. On the contrary, by cooperating, you will only be empowering them to disperse the loot that they earnestly hope will create your federal financial addiction and leave you hopelessly dependent on them. Do not cooperate with these federal political drug pushers. Reject the US Census today!