Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico

Who is a Puerto Rican? I consider myself a Puerto Rican although some might disagree. I am a 40-year-old man born in Puerto Rico to mostly Puerto Rican parents. My grandfather on my moms’ side is from Ecuador and my mom was born in New York City. My two sisters were also born in New York. Are they any less Puerto Rican then I am? We spent most of our adolescent years in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

My father enlisted in the Army and was then stationed in Yorktown, VA. My parents divorced and my father moved back to the island where he still lives today. My mother raised my sisters and I on her own and with the grace of god.
I lived in Michigan for a short time in my twenties but couldn’t stand the cold weather. In 1998 I moved south and made Miami Florida my home.

There are a lot of different flavors of Hispanics here in Miami. I think we have them all, which is good and bad. I tell all my Cuban friends that outside of Florida in any other state we are all the same… Mexican. I say it jokingly but I think there is some truth to it.

Growing up in VA many people would ask me about the different types of food we ate in PR and if it was spicy. At potlucks someone would always ask if my family could bring the tacos or enchiladas. I didn’t take offense to it because I really like Tacos, but I did take offense when people would ask what type of currency we had on the island or if I had a green card. It seemed as though the history of Puerto Rico wasn’t important enough to teach in school.

Puerto Ricans are natural born citizens of the US but are we Americans? Are we immigrants or some other form of second-class citizen? Well if you don’t know PR is a Commonwealth of the US but we are not a state. I can think of only one other state that has a similar title. The Commonwealth of Virginia, however that’s were the similarities end, because unlike Virginia, PR has no voting power in the Senate or the House of Reps. Which means that we have no real or true representation at the federal level. Speaking of voting, Puerto Ricans that live on the island cannot vote for the president or vice president of the US. Puerto Ricans that live stateside can vote for both. Puerto Ricans can be drafted to the military and contrary to some belief they do pay taxes. They pay most federal taxes, Medicare and social security. Although they pay fully into the healthcare machine Puerto Rico receives about 18% return as opposed to its stateside counterparts that enjoy a 97% return on every dollar invested.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Puerto_Rico)

The last time that Puerto Rico voted on becoming a state, only the residents of the island were included. And the majority of the people who voted, voted in favor of statehood by 61%. (http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-does-puerto-rico-really-want-to-be-51st-state.html) However it hasn’t materialized because… well your guess is as good as mine. Low voter turnout or too many voters didn’t fill out that question on the ballot. For whatever reason only the Puerto Ricans that live on the island had the chance to change our status.
My point is this. I think I and every other Puerto Rican, should have the right to vote on weather on not Puerto Rico becomes a state even if we don’t live on the island.

I’m not saying this because I think statehood would solve the economical problems that PR is going through, although I think it would help. I say this because Puerto Ricans are a real part of this country and our culture is kept alive and shared with everyone we meet even if we don’t live on the island. Everyone has seen the Puerto Rican flag hanging off the rearview mirror; I think its time we all stand united under one flag the American flag. We live, die and fight for the values that make this country great. Lets vote on it…all of us…it’s the American way.