The depth of the disaster is such that it requires the help of the National Guard from Hawaii or California. This was done when Katrina pulped a southern state. Is there a reason why this wasn\u2019t done to speed up recovery?<\/p>\n
We should have begged the White House for this urgent form of assistance. The need for urgent help is downstairs, not on imperial Capital Hill! The raw detachment and insensitivity are appalling!<\/p>\n
Culture of entitlement:<\/strong> Over the years we\u2019ve built the culture of entitlement as to boast the aura of superiority over all others who have come to these islands. We despise earning our dues in favor of instant fixes or gratification.<\/p>\n This is easily seen in how we view employment. We wanted high paying jobs as surgeons and super lawyers even as seventh grade dropouts. There\u2019s the lack of enthusiasm to hone our skills so we earn our dues as citizens.<\/p>\n In fact, we\u2019ve even categorized menial jobs as reserved for foreign workers. We wanted the livelihood of Matuas\u2014royal family\u2014lording over college-educated non-citizen professionals.<\/p>\n An experience jolted my mind on this issue. One afternoon, a young kid was passing by my house after school. He asked if the place is my residence. \u201cThen how come you\u2019re raking your yard looking like a\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Appalling the mindset of a young fourth grader who thinks that cleaning your yard is for foreigners. And his working parents are nowhere near the top posts among co-workers at work either. Baby! Didn\u2019t we turn ourselves into driftwood tossed about in the vicious open sea as royal misfits!<\/p>\n Realistic view:<\/strong> This shameful attitudinal deficiency has slowly shifted into a more realistic view of what\u2019s before us. How pleasant it is listening to NMC students outline their courses in freestyle discussions. It is even more gratifying their view of what they must do to get from point A to B in terms of subsequent courses they must take per semester. What\u2019s the pleasantry of it all? It\u2019s the educated discussion and the conviction to bring it all home. Each knows the prerequisites of success via education!<\/p>\n Meanwhile, I heard a hallway discussion about self-government. A mid-management level staff asserted that the concept is under our Constitution and must therefore be followed by the U.S. Congress. I listened attentively at the colossal misconception.<\/p>\n Well, if he misses the boat on the supremacy of laws, I wonder what the average citizen thinks or whether he or she cares at all. Well, there\u2019s a lot to learn and even I don\u2019t know where to begin to ensure that we\u2019re all on the same page!<\/p>\n Culture:<\/strong> In recent past, we\u2019ve used the term \u201cculture\u201d as though we know what the beast entails. I call it the \u201cunthinking\u201d spout by those who wanted to sound hip or even intelligent. Nice try!<\/p>\n Culture gives edification or meaning and substance to a way of life. Is this your understanding too? It has kept that social fabric intact among the local people for generations.<\/p>\n With this in mind, it would be a given that the supernatural spirits of our ancestors is of paramount importance in our culture. As such, the sacred burial ground in Garapan would have been defended to the hilt.<\/p>\n Politicians hawked the issue and allowed for its excavation and relocation. Out the window goes the sacredness of an ancient burial ground. We wanted casino and money over what has kept us a dignified people over centuries. I call this raw disposition forced self-alienation!<\/p>\n I have the greatest respect for the supernatural in that though our ancestors may be gone physically, the strength of their spirit lives among us daily, day and night. Torchbearers they may once have been, they remain so in spiritual fashion today. This is the sacredness of it all.<\/p>\n Somehow we missed the rainbow that usually hovers over the horizon as rainstorm gather up strength. Its beautiful colors stay together displaying the essence of unity. Perhaps we\u2019re no longer united thus to each his own. This attitude leads us down the path to self-destruction when we are hopelessly landless, cultureless, and completely displaced by our own \u201cke sera\u201d disposition.<\/p>\n The decision to ignore the essence of the sacred burial ground forebodes bad events ahead. I\u2019ve seen what spirits could do. Once is enough! A bad beginning enlists bad endings. Let\u2019s review the issue some five to six years from now when doors are closed, shut and bolted!<\/p>\n Shabu shuffle:<\/strong> Disturbing and perplexing how a highly productive family has gone into complete dysfunction and destruction that started with the use of shabu or \u201cice.\u201d The phenomenal growth in the use of this very destructive drug is inexplicably appalling.<\/p>\n There was the couple that made over quarter-of-a million per year reduced to a vicious split of the property. It shifted to an arrest where the patriarch can\u2019t even pay for his bail. It must be hellish sitting in a cell trying to figure out salvation, if any. But this is the net result of shabu shuffle that has slowly ballooned into a beastly social catastrophe. It\u2019s a clarion call upon the elected elite to step up to the plate and make a difference! Don\u2019t harp, do it!<\/p>\n I feel for DPS in its quest to stem the tide of the drug spreading in our community. But with the aftermath of a superstorm that pummeled these isles you wonder if the requisite funds could be met. Messy, huh? Need we wait until this problem is endemic\u2014regularly found\u2014NMI-wide? Do we now have health professionals who could deal with drug addiction?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The depth of the disaster is such that it requires the help of the National…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6590,256,67,4322],"class_list":["post-208399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-baby-didn","tag-casino","tag-people","tag-white-house"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208399\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}