the fine line between pride and ludicrous hyper-sensitivity

Ai adai, my fellow Guamaniacs. We are a proud race. A proud race and, it has to be said, a very sensitive one at that.

We are. You all know it. And it's perfectly understandable, too. Think about the different ethnicities in this world and the regions in which they live. Consider minority relations and the laws that govern their lands. By now, we all know that the rules don't apply on Guam. Thanks to the signing of a document many years ago that sold us out, we are not a territory of sovereign people who have the ability to decide how our own home is built or how it functions. While many we know take their rights and liberties for granted, we are stuck stewing on an island wondering what kind of liberties we've been given.

But enough about that. The point is that there is a reason for our sensitivity. But sometimes we take it too far and in doing so, we don't think about what we're saying and who we're saying it to. We don't consider the weight of our words and what they truly mean. We don't care that we are being hypocritical and silly.

The reality is that it is, in fact, silly to think that people who know little to nothing about Guam are ignorant and uneducated.

Ask yourself: If you weren't from Guam, if you didn't know anyone from here, what would YOU know about Guam?

Take away your prejudices and really think about this island, objectively, without your attachment to it. Think about its size, population and location. Ask yourself what kind of place Guam has on a global scale in a world that has roughly 200 countries and a population of six-billion people.

Perhaps we should have a lot more of a presence in certain circles and topics. Guam should be known for its role in WWII. Americans should know that the US does not just include its 50 states but its territories, as well. People in the US armed forces should probably know about Guam more than the civilian. But let's be realistic. We had the same textbooks as the ones they had in the mainland. Do you remember what kind of mention there was in our books? It was a small one. Is there really any wonder that Americans don't know much about us? Where are they supposed to learn? Do we expect them to wake up one day inspired with the need to look us up and figure out all there is to know about us? Do we expect them to observe a mention of us in a movie or viral video about some stupid senator and immediately want to know exactly what this Guam place is all about?

Now, there's no crime in wanting Guam to be noticed. It's natural to want people to know about us, what we have to offer and what kind of affect we have on this world. Because we do have many, many things to offer. And we absolutely have an affect.

But, really now, is calling anyone stupid going to change that? This attitude that people who don't know about Guam are all ignorant, is that helping our cause at all? Why don't we take a step back and actually tell people what we're all about?

For those who insist that people are stupid for not knowing much - or anything - about our beautiful island, I'd like to know what can you tell me about Ceuta. Is it a country? An island? A sovereign nation? Where is it located? To what country do Ceuta's inhabitants pay their allegiance to?

Don't know? Well, ask yourself this: Does that make you an idiot?

I didn't think so.