May 28, 2007
I now realize why it is that the United States is so interested in Puerto Rico, and why Puerto Rico has so much trouble deciding whether to be annexed into the union. After spending almost two weeks on the island, I have developed a theory.
Picture 1: El Capitolio houses the Senate and Representatives in separate wings.
In simple terms, Puerto Rican days and nights are full of life. Drinking, dancing, and ambiguity pack each sun filled day with a myriad of events and conflicting beliefs. The social standard in Puerto Rico is vastly different from that of the United States. The standards that have become familiar in the states seem to evoke Puerto Rican life as an illicit atmosphere.
In Puerto Rico, any day is acceptable to go out with friends and mingle with complete strangers while carousing the night away. Of the countless establishments on every street, people have the ability to choose where and when they will go, and are not limited in any way. Crowds of people, which are compromised of every generation, begin to dissipate long after midnight has passed and disperses entirely as the sun rises, dawning a new day.Picture 2: A view of Old San Juan from Fort San Felipe del Morrow
There is no question of the carefree lifestyles being socially acceptable in Puerto Rico. The United States and Puerto Rico remain linked as a commonwealth because of the immense conflicting social taboos that push and pull each society into the unique relationship that has stagnated of late. Puerto Rico has been “given” the ability to choose its future, whether or not it includes a relationship with the U.S. In creating this link the U.S. government has created a fail-safe scenario in which every outcome becomes a win-win situation and has yet to be concluded. The lazier-faire attitude of America tugs on the foundations of which the U.S. was built and evolves into yet another accomplishment that the “greatest country in the world” may boast. Failure of the creation of an independent Puerto Rico is at fault of the Puerto Ricans, while annexation would mean the salvation and embrace of Puerto Rico and its heritage. I eagerly await the end result, which still looms in the unbalanced air.
Picture 3: The Puerto Rican Flag flies next to the United States Flag.
3 comments:
Wes' observations about the Puerto Rican lifestyle are evident all over the island. There are always people gathered in plazas or sitting in stores mingling with anyone who walks by. No one seems to be in a drastic hurry, taking their time and enjoying the simpler things in life. The second picture of the field around the fort is a perfect spot where people relax in the grass and pass away the day.
Wow, Wes you sure did learn a lot. I thought the capital was awesome. The mosaics and the whole marble structure would be something I could only find in a magazine. Good Job!
Wes, you do well in expressing the ambiguous nature of the United States' relationship with Puerto Rico. Clearly the States benefit from the island's blood and treasure, in the form of troops to Iraq and valuable resources in the region.
It strikes me as a really dire issue that islanders are natural, in-born citizens of the United States, who could vote for the president if they moved to any state, and yet they cannot stay here and vote.
Clearly, the country needs to get it's self together. We owe it to the fighting men and women, and to the Puerto Rican people who have been living under foreign rule for hundreds of years.
It's so easy as a stateside citizen to not understand the situation here.
Thank you for calling us on it.
Slater
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