MY FATHER was a newspaperman. I grew up reading and watching the news, listening to all the debates about the momentous issues of the day ... the Cuban missile crisis and the ongoing threat of nuclear war, civil rights, Medicare, equality for women, Vietnam, Watergate, and more.

In the 61-plus years I’ve been around, however, I don’t know if I can recall a single election that will be more important for the future of the United States ... and the world ... than the one we’re facing now.

Unless we encounter another Florida 2000-type fiasco (a real possibility given the deep divisions in the country), a week from now we will know the result.

Will we continue the center-right policies of the Obama administration (yes ... in spite of all the nonsense about socialism spouted by the right-wing noise machine, from a U.S. historical perspective, that is exactly what they are), or will we complete the long slide into oligarchy that began with Ronald Reagan’s well-meaning but misguided experiment in trickle-down economics?

Will we continue to be a nation that pulls together when times are tough, that tries to give a fair shake to everyone, and where everyone plays by the same set of rules ... or will we turn the keys to the kingdom over to a tiny group of ultra-rich sociopaths, where all benefit flows only upward, and the 30-year-long redistribution of the country’s wealth and power from the middle class to the 0.01 percent at the top goes on unchecked?

Will we finally start to take global climate change ... the most serious threat facing our children and grandchildren ... seriously, or will we keep our heads in the sand – even as increasingly ferocious hurricanes and typhoons wash away so much that we have struggled so long to create?

Will we continue America’s long, painful march toward increasing understanding among people of all races, religions, ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations ... or will we turn back the clock to racism and intolerance?

Will we continue to move toward real equality for women, or will we turn back to a pseudo-biblical world view that insists men must be the ones in control?

Will we continue the development of a sophisticated foreign policy that recognizes the central role the United States must play in world affairs, but that other nations and cultures also have their own interests and points of view that must be respected ... or will we return to the policies of ignorance, arrogance and bluster that have already done us so much harm?

Will the truth continue to matter, or will our leaders be able to get by with any convenient lie or overt misrepresentation that serves their purpose?

Here on Guam, we don’t get a vote in this decision, but it is likely to affect our lives forever.
A week from now we will know.

A personal note

A week from now, I will also have just finished my last day as the International News Editor of the Marianas Variety-Guam Edition. It has been an honor sharing a few of my thoughts with you in these columns over the last year and a half, and I only hope you have enjoyed reading some of them as much as I have enjoyed the writing.

Later this month, Lynette and I will be returning to Japan to take care of our business interests in that country, but I am very pleased to say that I will also be serving as the Variety’s Japan correspondent. I’m looking forward to providing you with an inside look at what the Japanese are thinking about the transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa, increased U.S.-Japan military and diplomatic cooperation, the rising tension over the Senkaku islands, trends in Japanese tourism, and other topics of particular interest and importance to Guam. Who knows, you might even see a column of mine from time to time!

Si Yu’us Ma’ase.