The Land of the Free… Well, Except Puerto Rico
Whenever Americans think of Puerto Rico, they tend to think first of the beautiful Caribbean vacation destination. Whenever Puerto Ricans think of their island, they see the years of mistreatment and hardship that the island has endured. Puerto Rico has been the property of other countries for nearly five hundred years, but that does not give the United States a right to continue to ignore it. Puerto Rico’s status as a United States commonwealth keeps citizens from playing a part in fixing the political issues within the island. Without representation in the United States federal government nor political independence, Puerto Rico is powerless and silent. The status of Puerto Rico as a United States territory places the residents in a figurative state of limbo, and the United States should do something to make a change.
Puerto Rico has barely experienced any independence throughout their years as a country, colony, and later a territory. The small island was once a colony of Spain, along with its neighbor
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Many Puerto Ricans have always dreamed of seeing their beautiful commonwealth become its own country. American laws today are imposed on the territory, but by leaving Puerto Rico to make its own choices, the citizens could design their government whichever way they would like. This choice has the support of many current Americans, from former inhabitants of Puerto Rico wishing for independence to politicians not wanting to support the island in times of need. On the contrary, Puerto Rico has been the colony of a nation for hundreds of years. They have not had independence since before Spain took over the island in the 1500s, and because of that, it could be disastrous to simply cut all ties with the nation. The United States would need to slowly cut ties with the island and help it set up a system of democracy that would be