USA free irak...how about Puerto Rico?

Question

One nation should never be the property of another. Yet Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States. July 25 marks the centennial of U.S. occupation; in 1898, U.S. troops landed in Puerto Rico and seized the island as a prize of the Spanish-American War.

The colonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico has not fundamentally changed since that time. The island remains a political anachronism, a throwback to the age of gunboat diplomacy and the handlebar mustache.

Colonialism is inherently anti-democratic. In Puerto Rico, the population cannot vote for president of the United States, but can be drafted to fight and die in the wars of the United States. The island is represented in Congress only by a non-voting resident commissioner, yet Congress controls virtually all significant aspects of Puerto Rican political life. Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a "commonwealth," though this, too, is part of a colonial strategy, an illusory liberalization which has actually perpetuated U.S. control. Commonwealth or not, Puerto Rico's rate of unemployment is far higher than in any state. Per capita income is half that of Mississippi.

I would believe in independence for Puerto Rico even if I were not Puerto Rican. National independence is a prerequisite for democracy and self-determination; not an end, but a beginning.

Answer 1

Majority of Puerto Ricans don't want statehood.

Answer 2

1) Iraq was free from whom, they were not anyone's colony at the time of the US invasion.

2) Puerto Rico is not a colony, it's a territory of the United States which is self-governing. That is not the same thing as a colony.

A modern-day example of a colony would be Martinique, which belongs to France. The small island is actually considered to be a region of France, despite being on the other side of the globe.

Answer 3

Then choose do you wish to have Puerto Rico become the 51st state, or do you wish to become your own nation with no help from the US.

Answer 4

Puerto Rico has the option to apply for statehood and they don't. The can also attempt independence and they don't.

You may want it...but the majority of Puerto Ricans don't

Answer 5

Let them go it alone with no help at all from the US.

Answer 6

Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the US - not a colony (it has not been an US colony since 1946).  They have a democratic form of government, elected officials, and a good deal of autonomy.  They cannot vote, but also don't want to become a state, and you can't have it both ways.  There is no draft, so the possibility of a Puerto Rican being drafted against his will to serve in war for the US is zero.

Answer 7

A majority of Puerto Ricans want independence and they should have it too.