When local politicians embrace \u201caffluenza,\u201d representation shifts from \u201cwe the people\u201d to the \u201cwe few\u201d elitist group. Affluenza is a phenomenon where politicians ignore the golden rules because \u201cwe have money, we make the rules.\u201d <\/p>\n
Notice, most of their actions in terms of policy are catered to the whims of their rich partners, ignoring due diligence and needs of their people. It\u2019s a very confounding and unholy alliance. It makes the case to throw the bums out this midterm election. There\u2019s no compelling reason to keep any of them. Call it \u201cnose-end sight\u201d blurred by greed!<\/p>\n
The alienation created a two-tiered community: the elected elite on the hill and the poor in the villages. The new relationship leaves \u201cwe the people\u201d skeptical that our former representatives are doing the right things by doing them right. Affluenza limits their focus to the whims of their new partners. The indigenous people are no longer their partners!<\/p>\n
As noted in former NMI Supreme Court justice Jose S. Dela Cruz\u2019s recent letter, something\u2019s gone awfully wrong in paradise. The \u201celected elite\u201d (and I refuse use of the term leadership given that it\u2019s non-existent) has joined hands with rich investors. They simply trash the interest of the people that placed them in office. They\u2019ve given away the company store while filling their garage with tons of freebies from their new lords.<\/p>\n
To illustrate a point: A year or so ago the Legislature approved a single-license casino law even against the voice of \u201cwe the people\u201d in two plebiscites where we shot it down resoundingly. It\u2019s a tale of arrogance among the elected elite, trashing the open decision of their people. It\u2019s the scrapping of integrity compromising trust in their woefully shortsighted disposition on issues of importance.<\/p>\n
Leadership vacuum emerged. It is a dangerous path where corruption trails the loss of integrity. In the process, hubris and arrogance sets in. They push the poor closer to the edge of the cliff of egregious hardship. Their representatives settle for dollar a beer, openly sleepwalking that salaries and wages have remained the same for 14 long years. Did they do anything concrete to ease the hardship among villagers?<\/p>\n
Playing the wrong political scheme against your very own people is an egregious disposition you\u2019d have to eventually be held accountable for. Didn\u2019t we recently see the fate of a sitting governor and others who were shown the path to permanent oblivion for chancing fiat? It\u2019s inherent firmly in the palms of our hands. Once more it\u2019s time to warm up for major change.<\/p>\n
Yes, I am in agreement with former justice Dela Cruz that we shift gears beginning this midterm election to reinstate a government of laws in the NMI. Let\u2019s eradicate affluenza once and for all! Si JR.<\/p>\n
Beyond borders<\/strong> Understandably, there\u2019s nothing wrong localizing issues that focus on improving the livelihood of villagers. But this isn\u2019t happening at all. If policymakers never succeeded at home, how could they read beyond our superficial borders to understand the dynamics of regional economic ventures and their relationship to the NMI?<\/p>\n The elected elite must learn to read and understand how the NMI handles the struggle to cope, and cope well, with a fast-changing world. It isn\u2019t only timely but vital to know what\u2019s happening beyond our boundaries. It must develop the capacity to understand globally yet act locally, translating global dynamics to local setting. The lack of this capacity triggers turbulence at home.<\/p>\n Whatever happened to the use of their true north comprised of humility, integrity, and compassion for others?<\/p>\n Discipline of yore<\/strong> He related he misses the days of yore when life was simple on these isles. He was grateful for parents who were strong disciplinarians. He added how great it was learning how to \u201cearn our dues young as we were then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI remember working at the family farm from sunrise to sunset,\u201d he said. \u201cBut my dad wanted us to learn good work ethics including working with others like family members\u201d, he related. \u201cIt drove home a sense of humility and integrity as we honed the value of honest work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to study in makeshift lantern because we had no electricity, work at the farm plus hunting and fishing too,\u201d he added. \u201cWe worked until we were bone tired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had strong family values and never had to deal with problems like the destruction of heavy drugs or rely on USDA for our daily sustenance,\u201d he related. In a nutshell he did a replay of life in the \u201950s and \u201960s when the community was especially caring for the welfare of others.<\/p>\n \u201cOur parents made sure we benefit from spiritual development that started with catechism after school,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we learned in those classes informed us what is right and wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe strong discipline in households has faded slowly where permissiveness took over,\u201d he pointed out. He said it\u2019s time for families to revisit the benefits of strong parental discipline.<\/p>\n \u201cKids are born without respect, meaning they must be taught what the term entails.\u201d It brings an understanding how to respect the rights of others in our community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one aspect of cultural pedagogy that we must teach our children and it begins at home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When local politicians embrace \u201caffluenza,\u201d representation shifts from \u201cwe the people\u201d to the \u201cwe few\u201d…<\/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":[191,21,257,67],"class_list":["post-218186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-dela-cruz","tag-life","tag-nmi","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218186","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=218186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIn the last election, a political candidate paid a visit to feel my personal pulse on issues. It became apparent that he was clueless of issues I\u2019ve discussed in this corner of the paper. Moreover, it shows he hardly reads vital materials beyond the two papers. Even his reading comprehension was suspect that I find woefully troubling. And he wants to formulate policies for the people?<\/p>\n
\nAn unsuspecting friend sits alone at a family party. He was there since morning helping out in the kitchen. He needed some fresh air when we met.<\/p>\n