NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

 Even though almost everyone in the world will probably tell you that democracy is the greatest system of government in the world, that doesn't mean that people don't loathe it. People will generally loathe their own particular forms of democracy and only praise or love it when its existence is being shaded or overshadowed by some competing alternative. But even though they may loathe the ideas of Senators, Mayors, Governors or Presidents as being positions that are often held by cheats and liars, they tend to either tolerate or like the people who actually hold those positions. In a purely commonsensical level you might assume that since Congress is so incredibly unpopular, people would be in a hurry to vote out all incumbents and bring in fresh blood. You may think that since nearly everyone on Guam complains about Senators or Governors as being self-interested crooks who don't do anything more than wave by roadsides, no one in Guam's history would ever g

My previous trips to Okinawa revolved around demilitarism and decolonization in a political sense. This trip, because of my participation in the Island Language Revitalization Symposium at Ryukyu University was focused on decolonization with regards to the language in Okinawa. As people have asked me about my trip to Okinawa and what it was like I have developed a sort of easy to use, easy to understand narrative that I rely upon. Most think of Okinawa and Guam as places that are linked only through the presence of US military bases. Chamorros from Guam know Okinawa primarily through the imaginary of the military, as a place where they once lived, trained or heard stories of how the people there protest the US military. I want to challenge those limited ideas and show that there are more potential connections beyond that, more chances for solidarity. I want to help people see Okinawa from Guam not through the lens that you get by serving in the military, or