[speaker001:] Yes, um, I was wondering whether you were in favor of statehood, independence, or the status quo for Puerto Rico.
[speaker002:] I was a resident, although very young of the sta-, of what is now the state of Alaska in nineteen fifty-nine when Alaska stopped being a territory and became a state. Uh, so I guess I have a left over positive feeling about the question even though I don't know very much about Puerto Rico. Uh, I know that all the things that happened, relative to that territory in Alaska have been very positive, uh, and I have a suspicion that, that I believe that a, the statehood is a good idea whenever you have a territory the size of Puerto Rico one ought either to make it a full-fledged state or, or let it go, one or the other. What is your situation?
[speaker001:] Well, I'm, I guess I don't have su-, such close experience with, with, um, an area becoming a state as you do. Um, my concern is the economy because as I understand it Puerto Rico has a very low sta-, uh, standard of living or at least, um, annual average income. Um, part of this I suppose is justified in, in that the climate they don't need, perhaps, the heating and the housing that some of the more northern territories need. However, in that case, I guess I would favor status quo. I have been to Puerto Rico and, and found it very, very interesting. I did Peace Corps training there.
[speaker002:] Oh that's very interesting.
[speaker001:] And so, um, you know, I saw it, also as a young student and, and it was very foreign in a certain sense, although I had grown up in California and so the Spanish was no problem. Um, it was, it was, you know, very lovely and, and the people seemed very friendly and, and nice. I have, actually, I work with, uh, a girl from Puerto Rico and, I guess I have never thought to ask her what she favors, um.
[speaker002:] Your concern on the economy was one in terms of, if it became a state would that put even more pressures on, on Puerto Rico, or pressures on the U. S. in terms of aid or,
[speaker001:] Well probably more on, in terms of the U. S. Um, you know, I'm, I'm not quite sure how the U. S. copes with this sort of thing. I've live abro-, abroad most of my life, so, I guess I, I've been very cut off. I lived actually in Lebanon, so, I was very cut off from the, the press as I, you know, and be, was becoming an adult. So, I don't know how the U. S. would cope with, uh, a new state that is so very, very poor.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, I guess, you know, we'd have a lot of aid, if, if you consider the inner cities of like New York and, and how much aid it needs. I suppose the whole country, or the whole, um, new state would require such aid.
[speaker002:] I guess, um, we're assuming that, that Puerto Rico would be per capita significantly more poor perhaps than, than say Mississippi or,
[speaker001:] I think so.
[speaker002:] Okay, that's something that, that I guess I have not much of an image of other than, than Puerto Rico as a tropical island and consequently large numbers of barefoot natives or something not in a perjuritive sense but in a, in a carefree sense, I guess. Although I'm aware of the political problems and unrest, and, and also difficulties they have. Um, I don't know whether state woul-, statehood would improve their economy. I don't, I don't know that the ve-, the act of being a state would have any impact on, on them. Uh, I guess they would have the ability to do some taxing that they don't have now. But of course if their economy is weak the-, there is not much of a base on which to tax. I don't know if they suffer in a sense of income loss as being, since they aren't a state, whether there are monies that escape them so to speak because they aren't able to tax like a typical state would be. How do you feel, though, about, well I guess it's to their advantage to be a territory, but, um, I wonder how have, having been in a territory but only as a young student and my parents were in the military at the time so they didn't have ready negative feelings about being in, in Alaska at the time since they voted absentee. I, I would imagine that it must be a little bit of a se-, feeling of second class citizenry, uh, to be in a territory that large and not being able to vote. The District of Columbia people, for instance are quite frustrated, I think, at times in their not having a Senate representative.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Yeah, those, are good points, um, which obviously I had never thought about. Uh, I don't know, uh, I suppose they also, not being a state are probably freer to determine their own, um, ways of life than they would if, if, I'm trying to think exactly what is imposed if they would become a state versus a territory.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Perhaps compulsory education.
[speaker002:] Uh, I see what you mean, so that,
[speaker001:] Um, and taxes [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Yeah, taxes would undoubtedly be occurring. Uh, there, I don't know, I don't even understand exactly how taxes are handled in a territorial situation. Um, frequently the laws in a territory are, are in some ways as stringent as they are in other states, I, and I'm thinking in terms of education. But then again each state sets its own and I don't know how a territorial governor takes care of something like Puerto Rico. Um, it's interesting because I haven't thought of them in terms of the problems relative to, uh, economy, uh, I had thought of it more in terms of political, uh, realization and I guess I had automatically made the assumption that, gee, anyone would rather be a state of the U. S. than an independent country so,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Well, well actually I thin-, one, one thing that I remember hearing in the news the past couple weeks that might be significant is that they've recently voted that Spanish is the official language, which I always assumed it was anyway. So, if they've just taken such action, it would seem to indicate to me either they're doing it because they're afraid they might become a state and want to declare this before they become a state, or maybe because they don't want to become a state for fear of losing the Spanish, or Hispanic heritage.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, well that's interesting too. Well it sounds as though you are in favor of, uh, status quo.
[speaker001:] I, I believe I would probably tend towards that.
[speaker002:] And I think, uh, having listened to you relative to the economy thing, I think if I were being forced to make a decision I would plead ignorance and wait to do more research before picking one of these. So I'm ul-, I guess I'm ultimately in favor of status quo also at this point,
[speaker001:] Well that's interesting.
[speaker002:] leaning towards the statehood.
[speaker001:] Right. What about if, if, um, they demanded to have Spanish as the official language as a condition for statehood.
[speaker002:] I think I would be troubled, I suspect, I believe that any of our states, and I, constitutionally I don't think there are any prescriptions abo-, against that decision even if Louisiana chose to go with Creole or something. Um, I don't think there is any prohibitions. I would be bothered by that. I'm, I'm bothered by any tendency to resist what I think was one of America's strengths and that's the, the, the melting pot.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Uh, I, I am particularly fond of a number of ethnic cuisines, but I'm troubled by too close a clinging to, to the past and I'm also realizing that, that a common language, I think, is the ultimate bond of a country.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And Canada, I guess, comes to my mind as they're going through the throes up there relative to French Quebec and whatever. Uh, that I, I think that would be a negative step to make and I think that that they would need to reassess that. Um, I'm troubled even in by bilingualism, uh, in so far that it intr-, it gets in the way of, of, of the melting pot aspect.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, uh-huh. That's interesting because although I tend to be bilingual, Spanish based on experience, um, I was in bilingual education in California and I didn't have any problem with my students but I noticed my, my brother, who was quite a bit younger, was learning Spanish in elementary school and he can't speak a word.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] And so, obviously it didn't work in California.
[speaker002:] Yeah, but I'm rather in favor of people being bilingual,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] and I'd be quite happy to see a national law in which every student was required to learn English and a second language.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] But I'm, I'm disturbed by a country that attempts to be functionally bilingual at the official level.
[speaker001:] Oh, I see.
[speaker002:] Um, I'm, I'm concerned about whether or not that causes fractiousness I guess.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Well I think we have gone to time and I appreciate your having called.
[speaker001:] Okay, well thank you very much.
[speaker002:] Good-bye.
[speaker001:] Bye, bye.