Culture wars

When an ultra-liberal mainland American Peace Corps/PSS type tells a Chamolinian to be sure and protect his “dying culture,” that Chamolinian had better be morally outraged. That Chamolinian had better be vigilant. That Chamolinian had better be afraid. He should make every attempt to avoid that liberal mainland American at practically all costs.

The liberal American will no doubt express sincere concern. He will act as if he genuinely cares for the plight of the “native” Pacific islander. He will portray himself as a true friend of humanity–as someone who cares about the island’s fragile ecosystem and its indigenous population. Thus, he will be opposed to virtually all development projects.

Under the convenient pretext of protecting “a dying culture,” the liberal will attempt to inculcate a certain aversion in the unsuspecting Chamolinian mindset. This aversion will be directed toward foreign investment, the tourism industry, garment manufacturing, nonresident labor, and virtually all other vital components of modern economic growth and development.

In essence, the liberal will try to make the islander believe that he is being exploited by a ruthless, greedy, and thoroughly unscrupulous cabal of capitalists who care nothing at all for his endangered island heritage. Note: This type of political indoctrination may take the form of fairly regular “Letters to the Editor” at a rival paper.

Yet the real exploitation comes, not from the private business sector, but rather, from the liberal himself. For the liberal is essentially saying: “Don’t grow. Don’t rise. Don’t develop. Stagnate. Stay as you originally were many years ago: ignorant, superstitious, and dirt poor.”

When the first islander used a tractor to plow his farmland, the enlightened liberal was no doubt extremely upset. He was probably fuming and frothing at the mouth.

“What the heck are you doing?” he probably shouted with great indignation.
“Where’s your sickle or ‘kama’? What’s the matter with you? Why, don’t you realize that you are permanently ruining your traditional island culture? How dare you move to get ahead? How dare you aspire to my deplorable status as a civilized white man?”

I imagine that the liberal is essentially saying, “I don’t want you to be like me. I want you to be yourself. I don’t want to come here 10 years from now and see all of you wearing suits, using high-tech wireless Internet devices to check out your stock quotes. I want to see you in traditional island attire, impoverished, backwards and without the slightest care in the world, as I saw you when I first came here more than 20 years ago.”

In the final analysis, nothing could be more condescending and exploitative than this obnoxious liberal, call him Mr. Offendo.