NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The late French philosopher Jacques Derrida referred to “justice” as a term we use for impossible things. It is a word that we use for things that we can’t ever seem to resolve, about the problems of the past and the present. When a wrong is committed, justice is the word we use for things done in the name of fixing the problems that emerge from that violence, from that harm. But there is no precise science to justice, no easy way to agree upon what is the appropriate means of making amends for something. Criminal justice systems, restorative justice, reparations, apologies, these are all ways that we try to channel the trauma of the past. There is no equation for justice equivalence. Whatever happens in the name of justice will either be too much or too little. It cannot replace what was taken away, or those who have to give up something in the name of past wrongs will insist that they shouldn’t have to sacrifice for the sins of others. But the conversation and the process of de

After the Cold War ended, conservative philosopher/political theorist Francis Fukuyama penned an argument about "the End of History." His basic thoughts boiled down to the idea that with the United States victorious in the Cold War, and with Communism and Marxist thought and governments disappearing, the dialectics of history were over. The United States would never have another worthy antagonist, who could challenge it, and that liberal democratic capitalistic ideas would become the norm and nothing viable could ever appear again beyond it. There are many ways that we can see some truth to this argument. Very few people would ever openly argue nowadays that democracy isn’t the best possible for of political government. Capitalism appears to be the happy norm, after all, who could openly argue against the making of money and spreading of wealth? Whereas technology seems to constantly shifting and changing, making previously unthinkable things feel very

I haven't done many song translations lately, I've been so busy with so many different types of work, this activity that used to take my spare time while waiting for meetings, for movies, while sitting at intersections, riding in planes and so on, has fallen by the wayside in terms of my schedule. This used to be a regular exercise I would do to keep my Chamorro creativity going and active. But lately that part of me has been used up for other pursuits, including story-writing in the Chamorro language. But I recently rewatched the remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and loved the way they incorporated "Space Oddity" by David Bowie into the narrative. After listening to it again and again over the past two week, I really think I want to translate it into Chamorro. Not only because I like it, but because it is in-line with my philosophy of expanding the possibilities for Chamorro and just using Chamorro for everything I like or love or find passion in. In the

Sen tinanae' yu' gi este na simana put i Inachaigen Fino' CHamoru. Esta singko anos manayuyuda yu' gi este na dinana', komo hues yan organizer. Noskuantos anos tatte mannge' yu' column gi Marianas Variety put i hinasso-ku siha gi este na impottante na fina'pos. Antes di gera i Amerikanu siha ma sangani i Chamorro na ti magahet i lenguahin-miyu, maolekna na en yite'. Despues di i gera, i meggaina na Chamorro ma kombensan maisa siha na maolekna ma yute' ha' i lenguahin-niha ya ma fa'na'gue i famagu'on-niha Fino' Ingles. Gi 1970s esta ilek-niniha i linguists na kumekematai i Fino' Chamorro. Gi pa'go na tiempo meggai na taotao ilek-niniha na esta matai i Fino' Chamorro. Pues kada Matso, anai mandana' i estudianten Guahan yan i CNMI gi UOG para i Inachaigen Fino' CHamoru, hafa na lenguahi ma u'usa? Fino' Haya' pat Fino' Taya'? Sina ta sangan na un milagro este na kompetasion,

The way people conceive of Guam's economic health is mired in colonial feelings of inferiority and the contradictions that naturally emerge. As a small island in the middle of the ocean, Guam is naturally thought to have nothing according to the base epistemology of Europeans. Such a way of seeing the world and mapping its sense of value and naturalness is tied to the land. The land is safe, the land is secure, the land is what offers the chance to build, to horde, to make something. The ocean is the opposite. The ocean is the frightening infinite, the terrorizing endlessness, it holds the possibilities for imagining and perceiving that which is beyond the immediate and apparent, but the cost of this is that it cannot be trusted. The ocean and those places defined by it surrounding and connecting them, are the exceptions not the norm. Even if the land has its own inconsistencies and problems (kao manmaleffa todu put i linao siha?), the ocean is seen as impossible in contrast to

I wrote this three years ago after participating in the Chamorro language competition that year. The experience was so touching, I did my best to express what I was feeling and seeing. The Inachaigen Fino' CHamoru or Chamorro Language Competition continues this year and once again I am helping organize it. The competition starts this afternoon at 2 pm in the CLASS Lecture Hall and continues tomorrow during Charter Day at the Field House. ************************* I often write that I love to collect “impossible things.” Some might call them miracles, moments that take your breath away, things that are so inspiring in the way they defy some expectation or some assumption. Impossibility is a very intriguing concept; it is a way of talking about something you can’t actually talk about. It is a way of attempting to put a face, a name on some fundamental glitch or gap in the human experience, something beyond our ability to comprehend or integrate safely into our conscious

Statement to the Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Third Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism Quito, Ecuador, May 28 – 30, 2013 Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Ph.D. University of Guam / Independence for Guam Task Force The world has come to a consensus that colonization was not right and that colonialism should be eradicated. Whatever rhetoric countries once used to justify exploitation and expansion and their domination over other free peoples has been disproven. Although progress and development can come about through colonization it is neither the most effective or the most moral way of carrying this out. The arc of history seems to clearly bend in one direction, from colony to decolonization. There are only 17 non-self-governing territories left in the world, and close to 200 independent nations, many of them former colonies. This truth however is not manifest in most of the remaining non-self-governing terri

“Okinawan Independence” Michael Lujan Bevacqua April 10, 2013 The Marianas Variety Professor Yasukatsu Matsushima is a strong, but polite voice for Okinawa's Independence. I first met him last year while he was in Guam doing research. I ended up taking him on a hike to Pagat. Later he invited me to come to Okinawa and speak at several conferences on decolonization. On my most recent trip to Okinawa, I was fortunate enough to hear him give a lecture at Okinawa International University on “The Myths of Okinawan Independence.” Although the topic of Okinawa’s independence is very new and somewhat taboo, his talk was crowded with people wanting to know more.  Professor Matsushima may seem assuming at first, but make no mistake he is resolute in his belief that Okinawa should be an independent country. This advocacy has made him somewhat notorious. In both Okinawa and Guam independence is something considered taboo, impossible or anti-Japanese/American.

History is important because it holds the truth. The problem, like everything else dealing with the truth, is the uncertainty over what people should do with truths they don't like. History is filled with things you will like, things you won't really care about, and things you will hate hearing about. There are things that fill you with inspiration, love, hope and faith in the world around you, and things that make the world around you feel hollow, terrible, disgusting and make you wish you could leave it all behind, time travel or be sent to another universe. One of my favorite quotes about history is the notion that "Happy people have no history." This is something that I don't agree with as something that produces happiness, but I do believe that many people relate to the concept and force of history with this in mind. The less you know or the narrower your knowledge is about history, the happier you might seem to be. If you come from a community wi

I'd have a laugh, chinatge yu' didide', over the past few years, each time that I make an assertion about the military buildup on Guam, and someone rebuts me by saying that that's just what I want and not really the way things are. This usually happens when I say something to the effect that " ti madiside esta, este na mamta' i militat." Or "this military buildup is not already a done deal." The response I get sometimes, is that I am refusing to recognize reality, that the obvious is staring me in the face, in truth about to slam me in the face, but I am just consumed in my own ideological world that the cold, hard, searing truth is something I cannot feel or admit to. Agreements have been signed, opinion polls have been conducted, fancily dressed and not so fancily dressed military brass and Washington politicians have come through giving basically the same speech over and over again several hundred times. The DOD says their gonna do it, and ev