Why Do I Write These Articles

During the past year, several readers have asked me why do I write these articles. I have written mainly concerning education with an occasional discussion on other topics. So what is my purpose? What do I hope to accomplish?

First, hopefully, you will find something of interest or information that will help you to understand better the PSS, yourself, and our community. When I sit down to write I think of “education” as one of the main ingredients for improving our lives. It can be education learned on the “street” or from practical experience or gathered from formal study. Whatever its sources or where ever we obtain it, the quality of education we acquire makes a major difference in the social or economic status we enjoy in life.

Oftentimes I reflect what my own life would have been if I hadn’t become hooked on a life-long journey to acquire an education. My parents being immigrants to America never saw the inside of a classroom as children and remained illiterate throughout their adult lives. But they insisted that my brother and I get a solid education.
As a result, my brother became an oral surgeon who recently retired after thirtyfive years in practice, and I have been continuously seeking to better myself through business activities.

Second, as I approach seventy years old, I wish to share my thoughts and experiences about how to enjoy work, how to achieve ambitions, how to achieve a better life, how to help our children succeed, how to assume social and civic duty, and other subjects that may interest you. I do not presume to have answers to the important questions that we wrestle with daily. The opinions I express are strictly my own. But if I can arouse you to think also about them creating your own solutions, I will have accomplished one of my major reasons for writing these articles.

We must all actively participate in improving our community; otherwise, laws and bad decisions will be made without our becoming aware of them until too late. We must be sentries guarding our interests. We must be alert and scrutinize everything that the Administration and the Legislature tries to do. We must have input. We are part of the government, not just the governed.

The greatest asset a community possesses is an educated citizenry. If the CNMI is to compete with other destinations in achieving economic growth and stability, it must have an educated workforce to meet the challenges. If we are ever to break our bondage to non-resident workers, we must substitute ourselves and our children as educated workers. Thus I write about selfimprovement and its value.

In addition to repeatedly writing about the necessity for all of us to become better educated, there is another message I endorse. As citizens of our community, we must all contribute to its well-being. We must repay the community for the benefits we have enjoyed from it. By that I mean we should volunteer time and efforts to it.

You, who are retired, share your experiences with youth. Become a mentor. If you are still working, make time to share with various charitable organizations. You can make a difference. Many people alone or in groups have make great improvements to a better life for the community. As you have taken, give something back!

These are the main reasons why I write these columns. It is my way of returning something to a community that has been good to me. In writing these articles, I encourage you not only to educate your children but yourself as well. I guess I want to be your gadfly.