People within the Church and other faith groups are divided on political and social issues. Members of the faith communities do not articulate a monolithic view of these issues. The variety of perspectives on these issues in the communities of faith are reflective of the diverse perspectives in the wider society.
In this essay, I will deal with the issue of colonialism. For the purposes of this discussion, I will define colonialism as the usurpation of a land, its people, and its resources for the economic, military, and political advantage of the colonizer.
This essay will focus on the island of Puerto Rico. I am a New York born and raised Puerto Rican minister and theologian who has a theological commitment to social justice. The views that I express in this essay are rooted in my faith and its attendant ethics.
I will begin my dismissing outright that contemptous, derogatory, insulting, and patronizing statement that is often made by those who are opposed to people expressing their views on injustice, i.e. "If you don't like it here, go back where you came from." I will respond to that by saying that this is not about "liking or not liking here." This is a matter of pointing out one of the many flaws of the nation that we live in and in which we strive for it to live up its self-proclaimed ideals of democracy, and "liberty and justice for all." And I would add to that, that those who make that type of statement, are by and large, descendants of the European land-grabbing colonizers who were not invited here, but rather took it upon themselves to come to the Caribbean and what is known today as Latin America, to usurp the land from its original owners, killing many of them off, and replacing them with the institution of chattel slavery. Maybe their descendants who say such things to us should be the ones to "go back where they come from," no offense to my Euro-American and Anglo-American sisters and brothers.
I will add that I am not approaching this issue on the basis of an economic and political outcome. In other words, I do not believe that the decision regarding the political status of Puerto Rico should be based on what may or may not happen if Puerto Rico were to become a self-governing nation. As a theologian, my questions would be "what does justice require?" on the one hand, and on the other, "do the people of Puerto Rico, like any other nation, have the right to be sovereign and self-governing republic?" And ultimately, as I theologian, I would be concerned with the issue of what is God's stance on colonialism?
Since this essay will not be a detailed treatise, I would recommend a reading of the books, " Colonial Dilemma: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Puerto Rico," edited by Edwin Melendez and Edgardo Melendez, 1993 South End Press, Boston MA, and my doctoral dissertation "The Liberation of Puerto Rico" A Theological Perspective" by Juan A. Carmona, 1982, Library at Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Rochester, New York. While these two books do not constitute an exhaustive list, they do provide some insight into the contents of this essay.
There are those who believe that Puerto Rico's current economic problems and the subsequent mass migration out of the country to Slavetown, U.S.A. are rooted in its "overspending and borrowing by the government." This writer respectfully disagrees with that, and in fact, believes that this notion is a myth.
I humbly and respectfully submit that Puerto Rico's economic problems stem from the colonization and immoral occupation of the island and its people by external powers, as well as exploitation by certain "elites" within the Puerto Rican community who serve at the pleasure of the Multi National Corporations (MNC) who have been conducting business on the island on a "tax free" basis.
Since 1508, when Juan Ponce de Leon, established the Spanish occupation of Puerto Rico, and since 1898, when Puerto Rico became a territory of the U.S.A as a result of the Spanish American War, the people of Puerto Rico have not been able enjoy complete freedom from external powers. The Spaniards imposed their culture, language, and religion (Catholicism), and the Americans imposed their economic (capitalism) and political (pseudo-democracy) institutions, as well as establishing their religion (Protestantism with its many shades). During the era of Spanish colonization, the cross went "hand in hand" with the sword, i.e. there was an alliance between the Church and the Spanish Empire. In the era of American neo-colonization, Protestant Christianity was linked to the idea of "Manifest Destiny," i.e. the notion that God had predestined America to bring "civilization" to the "brutes and savages" of Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America.
What does God think of colonization? The thrust of the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and the Gospel accounts in the New Testament, is that God is against and denounces all forms of injustice. This injustice includes but is not limited to socio-economic alienation and poverty, but also includes neglect of the widows and orphans, abuse of the powerless, neglect of the immigrants, and theft,whether it be of the individual nature or institutional, structural, and systemic theft (colonization) type.
You, the reader are invited to contribute to this conversation. Please share your perspectives and views with us on the basis of ethics and theology, and not on the basis of what is politically expedient or convenient.
I look forward to your input.
In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.
Dr. Juan A. Ayala-Carmona
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