Island Of Lost Causes Reflection

"The reality of Puerto Rico is an unemployment rate of 17.3 percent; 862 murders in 1992--a number that is expected to rise in 1993; a language so quickly becoming Spanglish that we have an inferiority complex about the purity of our spoken tongue; rampant urbanization that has destroyed thousands of acres of farmland; American businesses that set up shop for as long as they can get tax breaks, then move on to another part of the world where there is no minimum wage and the -workers don't expect as much"

This quote is from a writing by Esmeralda Santiago talking about the independence of Puerto Rico that stems from their war enraged past dealings. Santiago goes on to tell about her Uncle who was a nationalist that was being investigated by the police and eventually killed. She recounts vivid memories of even puting her finger through the hole of the gunshot wound. Santiago never heard about her unlce when she moved to New York but now the main subject is whether puerto rico should become the 51st state of the US or not. She boldly says "We are born American citizens but harbor an intense Latin American identity". There are times when other countries loo at Puerto Rico and laugh because they say that Puerto Rico doesn' have the same struggles of independence that other countries do. Santiago reverts this by saying

"The truth is, we do have a history of struggle for independence but the opposition has always won. The failure of our best hopes for independence through centuries of failed insurrections has caused many Puerto Ricans to simply give up". This statement is powerful when dissecting the history of Puerto Rico and the struggles that lie within. Many people here on the island are very entusiastic about political aspects and sometimes try to show other countries that "yes we are independent and struggling". In the end of this writing Santiago says
"Ironically, neither violent insurrection nor the democratic process seem able to solve that question. Tío Vidal had a belief in nationhood that drove him to risk his life. How many of us Puerto Ricans would go that far? We need to look at ourselves hard and to stop hiding behind the status quo. It is not a choice. It is a refusal to choose."

I believe that this writing has hit me the hardest out of all of Esmeralda's wrotings because it shows the hidden agendas of why Puerto Ricans are clinging on to their independence from the US. In my opinion , I believe Puerto Rico has become and Americanized place already, with US companies having stores on the Island and everything, I do not see why they do not want to become a state. I can see Santiago's perception that commonwealth insures that they do not have to commit one way or the other but, sometimes to make situations better one must conform. Now adays the economic deficit in Puerto Rico is higher than ever and some intervention must take place. Strikes are going on and i belive this wouldnt happen if they were considered a state and had the same benefits as the 50 states of the USA.