National Media’s equally irresponsible

I’ve meticulously followed the much maligned Marianas Archipelago by the national media who fell gullibly vulnerable to anything that human rights activists throw their way. From the first Oversight Hearings in Washington in 1993, the very essence of protecting the human rights of workers here shifted significantly to protecting the special interest of the US textile labor unions. Apparently, the textile labor unions must have been resting on their laurels as to take their manufacturing turf for granted. One day they woke up to find Little David from the Pacific, a $1.2 Billion apparel industry, making headway into their markets. They didn’t like it and so they resorted to bigotry as their tool to ruin what is now our livelihood.

The master evil genius at the US Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs fed human rights activists a logically though warpedly prepared report allegedly using US taxpayers mainland money to turn lobbyist against the NMI. It’s one issue that ABC’s 20/20 completely ignored. But then Brian Ross was far more interested in sensationalism than the difficult task of infusing what’s known in the business as “fair and responsible” reporting where salient issues of public concerns are fully explained. But he decided to scrap responsible journalism for greenish and yellowish journalism in what I dub the “arrogance of the national media”. Ross was apparently focused on securing another unearned reward by contributing to the ruination of a people’s livelihood. What adolescent mind set!

Any responsible journalist would have probed what exactly happened in terms of US commitment under the terms and conditions of the Covenant Agreement where our mother country is charged with the responsibility to “assist the NMI attain a higher standard of living”. ABC’s 20/20 should have sunk its teeth deeper to find out what really created this sour relationship. Had it been level headed, it would have discovered that Interior’s OIA, the lead federal agency, neglected to fulfill its fiduciary obligations during the formative years of our constitutional government which came into existence in 1978. It would have found out too that Uncle Sam was equally responsible for the emergence of a now dysfunctional family.

Had the national media taken a more responsible approach, it would have dug into the devastating effects of the Asian Crisis, coupled by a federal agenda that simply ruined at securing lasting investments. I really expected the national media to put these issues into perspective, including the hypocritical economic policy of the Clinton administration that purposely excluded the NMI as part of the American Economic Community. This is an issue that the national media should have zeroed-in not to mention the need for an in-depth review of the NMI’s non-representation in the US Congress. Had it really contributed positively towards pressuring the Clinton administration for an equal application of its economic policy, we too would march behind our national leaders and policymakers to make joblessness and helplessness a closed chapter in President Clinton’s half-cocked conviction “not to leave anybody behind…in these economic good times”.

As we close out this century, I sincerely hope that we reinvent our collective approach to making these isles a true partner in the American Economic Community. I further hope that for once in our lifetime the other side of the Pacific sees these islands as a true member and partner in the American political family. After all, our parents and grandparents have also sacrificed so much to ensure that “freedom rings from sea to shining sea”. Friends, the NMI is Americana too!