Changing the Status Quo for Puerto Rico

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In my class, Rhetoric we have continued to use what we have lived in unit 1 into, unit 2 by studying the status quo and how we are able to change that. In this unit, we wanted to push out Rhetoric skills and analyze the situation while using them. For example, we took a look at the Nixon v. Kennedy debate, spoke to striking teachers, and a mini-debate we had between De Las Casa and Christopher Columbus. Throughout this unit we had some Field Experience guests (Ugo Okere and Troy LaRaviere) come in to speak to us about how they might use Rhetoric and how it affects their everyday job/life. We also spoke to them about what the status quo means to them and what they do to challenge it. For this Action Project, we were influenced by one of our Field Experience members (Troy LaRaviere) to create an op-ed (opposite page of an editorial page). We were able to choose a topic and speak about how it challenges the status quo. For my op-ed, I decided to write and study the US's decision to turn Puerto Rico into the 51st state.

     Is Puerto Rico Really Going to Become the 51st State?

SR.PuertoRicanFlag.2019

In 2021, the US wants Puerto Rico to become a full state even though the island’s conflicts are not properly addressed or considered. The island itself lacks certain rights, it lacks privilege, and it lacks support when in need of common necessities. I don’t understand why the US now wants to make Puerto Rico an official state after having possession over the island since 1898.

As I can see there hasn’t been an actual thought process in this major decision. Many people find it to be a great idea for Puerto Rico to become the “51st state” in the US, but there are vital and heedless consequences in regards to PR becoming apart of the US.

Over the past two years, there has been back to back argument of Puerto Rico becoming a state. Correction: there has been little argument of Puerto Rico becoming a state. There has not been much news about this significant matter.

Many official US citizens think it’s a great idea for the island to become the 51st state and some might think that it will be good for the economy of Puerto Rico, that Puerto Ricans will be able to vote, or that Puerto Ricans will have “complete support.”

But when I think of this as a possibility It’s crazy it’s even considered based on the “importance” that Puerto Rico has with the US. With Puerto Rico becoming a full state that means that the economic crisis will worsen, tax will go up, gentrification will take action, Americans that would think it’s okay to come into the island and take jobs away from the native citizens will have an effect, the culture will be wiped out, and Puerto Rico would not be able to be called “home” anymore.

Early this year, Puerto Rico slid into an economic crisis. This traces back to 2017 when the island was hit by Hurricane Maria. While tourists are stunned by the beauty of the island they don’t recognize what’s really going on within the citizens of Puerto Rico, and over the past two years, there has been a raft of gentrification, which affected the economy even more.

People may think that this is old news, but Puerto Rico is still suffering from this financial hole. As a Puerto Rican myself I was fortunate enough to visit the small island. My family comes from small towns and do not live in the wealthiest parts of Puerto Rico, and actually being able to see and experience the lifestyle there was totally opposite than what others might think. A lot of what I saw were abandoned and vacant buildings, closed schools, a lot of waste, and unstable living conditions for some individuals.

If Puerto Ricans become “official” US citizens they would have to start paying taxes and mortgage for their homes, and that’s not possible for most Puerto Ricans to have that big shift in their current positions. This also means that the homes that they have made can be taken away since PR would be under US legislation.

While these conflicts are occurring the congress of Puerto Rico is trying to address these issues on their own, and going back to the US turning Puerto Rico into a state, does not make sense to me if they aren’t even helping the native citizens who have been living on the island all their lives.

For a President who bashed Puerto Rico by stating it as "one of the most corrupt places on earth" there’s not much respect that is given for the land, right? I mean who says that about a location that would possibly, potentially, prospectively be apart of the US?

So making Puerto Rico into a state will change what the island is today. If the US is not able to control and manage its legislation why should we trust them to take in Puerto Rico? By claiming the land into their custody the first thing they changed was the original flag that represented Puerto Rico in 1952. So think about what else they would change about a place millions of people call “home.”

Addendum

While conducting my op-ed I wanted to be sure I was using each Rhetorical appeals, ehtos, pathos, and logos, and also some Rhetorical devices. I demonstrated ethos by talking about my persoanl relationship with Puerto Rico by being Puerto Rican myself, and also experiencing what it's like on the island. I represented pathos by getting a bit more personal with my experience in Puerto Rico and how it might change if officially becoming apart of the US. I included logos in my op-ed by stating quotes and statistics. In my op-ed, I first used Anaphora: "The island itself lacks certain rights, it lacks privilege, and it lacks support when in need of common necessities." I then used Alliteration: "location that would possibly, potentially, prospectively" Lastly, I used Rhetorical question: "there’s not much respect that is given for the land, right? I mean who says that about a location that would possibly, potentially, prospectively be apart of the US?"

As this is my first op-ed I would be awesome to be able to publish it to the New York Times because there has been some discussion about Puerto Rico's statehood, and I would want to be able to make it known even more. New York also has a large Puerto Rican community, which means I would be able to communicate with many Puerto Ricans throught my op-ed.

Citations-

- Mouzakitis, Christos. Abelow, Ayelet. Greene, Corin. "Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side." Gentrification. https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/puertoricans/gentrification/

- Román, Elizabeth. "Puerto Rican Summit Highlights Economic, Political Crisis on Island." October 17, 2019. https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/10/puerto-rican-summit-highlights-economic-political-crisis-on-island.html

- Morin, Rebecca. "Trump calls Puerto Rico 'corrupt' as island braces for Tropical Storm Dorian." August 28, 2019. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/28/trump-bashes-puerto-rico-mayor-island-braces-dorian/2139181001/

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