When Does Puerto Rico Matter?

The other night on CNN the “pundits” were going at it. The talking heads were discussing – what else? – should Hillary stay or go and should Obama (btw: why is she called by her first name and he called by his last name?) call it a win already and say, “I accept the nomination.” Consensus was that Obama should not say he won (yet), but no consensus on what Hillary should do.

The pundits have their own terms through which they conduct their "analysis." Here are the current favorite vocabulary words, study them for your political spelling bee: Metrics, Math-That-Doesn’t-Work, Fighter, Super Delegate, Delegate, and incredibly enough, Puerto Rico.

I was listening up, my Boricua ears pricked and my Puerto Rico antenna twirling to get the best reception and then Paul Begala said, “No one asked me, but I say let's make them a state. But no one asked me.”

Um, no, Paul no one asked you, and newsflash, you cannot make us a state. Puerto Ricans would need to decide that first. This is precisely what we have been fighting over since the United States Marines invaded the island in 1898 (the same year the U.S. “acquired” Hawai’i which is to say overthrew the sovereign kingdom of Hawai’i) and “acquired” Puerto Rico from Spain as the spoils from the Spanish – American War.

For details go to the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress

Once again, Puerto Rico is important only because the island has something someone from the U.S. needs: 63 delegates that will vote for Hillary or Obama. The gold being mined are votes. “Let's make them a state” being the battle cry as Hillary and Obama dig for their own benefit, neither one of them having the courage to talk out loud about the historical consequences of U.S. military coups against sovereign nations. Here are some more vocabulary words for the political spelling bee: Displacement, Diaspora, Cultural Destruction, Environmental Devastation, Colonization, Imperialism.

Yes, words matter. And the language words are spoken in matter, too. Y en Borinquen hablamos Puertorriqueño. Nuestro lenguaje tiene sus raices en las lenguas de España, Africa, y Indigenas de los Taínos. Una mezcla que explica nuestra historia de conquista y de resistencia y que nos compromete a un futuro como un pueblo, una nacíon, una cultura. Puerto Rico es un Estado Libre Asociado. Got that, Pundito?

Hawai’i and Puerto Rico were not just “acquired;” we were invaded by the U.S. military which marched across the islands, taking towns, and cities, and our leaders overthrown. Since 1898 we have been struggling for autonomy and sovereignty. The flippant remark by Paul Begala, “Make them a state” exposes the colonial relationship as the patronizing and humiliating relationship it has been and continues to be.

And there is something about "Let's make them a state" that sounds uncomfortably like, "Let them eat cake."

Pan, Tierra, Libertad.

Today’s New York Times has an op-ed piece on Puerto Rico titled, "Puerto Rico’s Moment in the Sun." You better read it quick before the sun disappears behind another political cloud.