One of the persistent arguments against statehood for Puerto Rico is the suggestion that becoming a state would cause Puerto Rico to lose its cultural identity and flavor.
Every state has its own cultural flavor and identity. Puerto Rico would be no exception.
Puerto Rico culture has already been shaped by the United States, and the United States has also been shaped by Puerto Rico.
Do states lose their cultural identity?
No. Each of the current 50 states has its own customs, foods, history, and identity. The United States is already multicultural, multilingual nation where people with roots all over the world celebrate their shared and disparate heritage.
Sometimes people point to Hawaii, ignoring the fact that Hawaii was admitted as a state long after the native language and population had been oppressed by business interests. In fact, one of the reasons Hawaii embraced statehood was to give the local population the power they lacked as long as Hawaii was a territory.
The fact that Puerto Ricans living in states continue to cherish their cultural identity is clear. Statehood for Puerto Rico won’t change that.
Does being a territory support cultural identity?
Puerto Rico has been losing population for decades. Now, nearly twice as many Puerto Ricans live in states as the population on the Island. People leave Puerto Rico because they want better opportunities, better access to healthcare and education, and better jobs. Do Puerto Ricans living in states need to keep the Island in a colonial status in order to support their connection with Puerto Rican culture? We say no.
The territorial status keeps Puerto Rico from supporting entrepreneurs, creators, and leaders from Puerto Rico. It keeps Puerto Rico from fulfilling the undoubted enormous potential of the Island. A level playing field will allow much more development of Puerto Rican culture than crippling colonialism.
Would statehood end the use of Spanish in Puerto Rico?
Both Spanish and English are official languages in Puerto Rico. There is no reason for that to change under statehood. Does migration affect language use? Yes, it often does. The children of immigrants often cannot speak the language of their parents. The children of migrants to states from Puerto Rico often do not speak Spanish. But the cause of migration from Puerto Rico to the states is largely the economic difference between Puerto Rico and the states. Residents of Puerto Rico want to live in a state. When Puerto Rico is a state, people will not have to leave the Island in order to live in a state.
Give up the myth that statehood would threaten Puerto Rico’s culture. Reach out to your congressional representatives and encourage them to get on the right side of history and support statehood for Puerto Rico.
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