Our Basket Factory

Over at Dondequiera, one of only a handful of blogs in Puerto Rico with brains, wit and charm, MC Don Dees skewers the rantings of Rogelio "Puff Dead-y" Figueroa, erstwhile gubernatorial candidate for the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico faux-party. I can't improve on it, so go read it there.

The motivating factor for both Figueroa's mirages and MC's hammer (hahaha) is Puerto Rico's outright crappy economy. (Crappy in comparison to industrialized nations; We kick Third World ass, but most of Us couldn't define "Third World" in any terms other than "I dunno.") Much has been made of Our tendency to go for a "silver bullet" solution, largely based on laziness, island mentality and overall ignorance.

Let Me explain: 

--Laziness: We want all We can get with minimal effort. See also: Welfare mentality.

--Island mentality: Small country, small goals. What a crock.

--Overall ignorance: "They" are the experts and We don't want to learn.

(No, I'm not in a funk: I'm simply rehashing ancient history.)

The problem with "silver bullet" thinking can be illustrated by the proverbial basket with all one's eggs in it... and having the basket smashed by thugs.  Some of the thugs are Ours, but most aren't. And therein lies the problem, for you see, the eggs may be Ours, but the basket isn't. And unless you have your own basket, or better yet, your own basket factory, the thugs will smash your eggs whenever it suits them best.

If you read through the Jenius, you'll notice I'm all for the basket factory. But that makes Me a distinct minority. I see no reason why 3,600 square miles is some sort of intellectual or achievement limit. Athens was smaller than San Juan and changed humanity. The Vatican fits in some of Our barrios and it dominates 850 million lives. And if technology has shown anything it's that a handful of people can alter almost any aspect of daily life.

So forget Our island's size: It's irrelevant. The true economic solutions need to focus only in a space of about about 550 cubic inches: Our brains. Yes, We need alternative energy sources, but first We need to replace thugs with workers and apathy with enthusiasm. Yes, We need to replace drug companies, but first We need to envision multiple solutions as possible and that unless We act in Our best interests--Our best interests--Our progress will always be limited by thugs.

Of course, what I'm proposing is exponentially more difficult than mere punditry, sophistry and empty stat blather. That's part of the problem, for We are easily taken in  by the low road, the easy path and the cushy solution. We range from "idealistic" brain bubbles to 19th century head burial, but We never seem to look at Ourselves as truly capable and truly worthy of taking Our place on the world stage.

Our economic future is not--and never has been--about of the size of Our shores: It's about the size of Our will, of what We think and what We burn to accomplish. It's about hearts and minds seizing the greatest potential and working to make it a reality. It's about the high hard road because We need to earn Our best future instead of settling for the next handout. 

It's about time.

The Jenius Has Spoken.