Life in Wonderland: Conversations with myself on colonialism and revolution

Watching the revolution in Egypt on You Tube and reading about it on the news and on Facebook posts has got me thinking even more about Guahan's past, present and future. I find myself crying while watching the demonstrators regain their dignity and realize their power as a united people. It's sad that what was a peaceful revolution has turned in to something more dangerous and almost medieval, but there is still beauty in it. They are doing what they can to maintain momentum while protecting each other, their homes, and their country. I wish them a safe a journey towards a destiny of their own molding.

I was thinking about how it got to that point for them. What made them so fed up that they decided it was time for change? If thirty years of not having a real vote is what it took, then Guahan is due for change too.

While we vote for our governor and legislature, we don't vote for our president and live by a constitution that was not written or amended with our needs in mind. We have little control, if any, over trade and immigration. These are things that hinder opportunities for us to contribute to the world. They hinder our ability to sustain ourselves with out dependency on U.S. aid. We are being controlled by that dependency.

At the same time too many of us underestimate our gifts. I'm talking about the people who say we have no resources and nothing to offer the world. We have this beautiful island, ocean, and people. Our people are resources. And we have many very talented people who just need support and encouragement to cultivate their abilities and talents. We produce more military service men and women per capita than any state. Why not cultivate doctors, artists, musicians, teachers, leaders, scientists, and farmers? Why is everything we consume imported? Music, food, literature, and language are all brought in from somewhere else. I'm not saying we should block out everything. I'm just saying we should appreciate what we have too and do our best to sustain those resources. We need to stop telling our children that they must leave in order to thrive.  We need to stop telling our children that if they stay they will only survive off the aid and hand me downs of more powerful nations.

I think colonialism plays a big part in our way of thinking. We've been led to believe that we were a people who were not strong enough to survive on our own and we continue to play that role they've casted us in. What I think we have to see is that no nation stands alone. They are all connected and an integral part of the stability of the world. As it is now, we have no say in our destiny and in our level of connection with other nations. But it is not beyond us to become the designers of our destiny. We just need to reconnect with our community and talk about what we want and need. We need to dream! We need to believe in ourselves and each other. We need to believe that our island and people are more than what they tell us we are.

Just like the people of Egypt, we can unite to realize our dreams for Guahan. Hopefully it won't take insufferable oppression and severe desperation to get us to that point. But either way, there will come a day when the sounds of our ocean are entwined with the raised voices of Guahan's revolution. I just hope that our revolution is brought on by education and a uniting of our community.