Pieces

Today, over 80 countries and island nations involving hundreds of millions of people have gone through a process of decolonization. In fact, currently, there are only 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories named by the United Nations that have yet to be decolonized, with Guam being one of them.
 

Philosopher George Santayana once declared: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This quote certainly applies to the current “changing political status” effort taking place as Guam politicians, the Commission on Decolonization (COD), and independence movement proponents attempt to claim our island would’ve been better off during a worldwide pandemic as an Independent Nation.
 

In class last week, my students and I talked about 
how military buildup plans have morphed over the past 15 years,  
but how each time, the notices say the same thing: