78-11-B3
- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1978
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South Seas[edit]
Transcript[edit]Do you ever dream of a blue lagoon surrounded by palm trees? A South Pacific island where the trade winds blow and life is sun, sea and sand? I'll be right back. Most of us at some time or other have gone Polynesian in our daydreams. The very word South Sea Island brings up pictures of white coral sand, blue sea, blue sky, balmy breezes and just possibly a ukulele providing background music. I'm sure there still must be such islands. If there aren't, I don't want to know that. But I'm having trouble clinging to my daydream. A married couple from New Mexico set out on a cruise to the South Pacific and I've been reading an account of their trip. Several days beyond Hawaii, they came to one of the Micronesian islands awarded to the United States after World War II. Some of the indestructible charm of the South Pacific is there, after all blue sea is blue sea and sand is sand. But it wasn't helped by beer cans and rusting automobile bodies. That dreamy island music is now a jukebox. It seems that back in the early 60s we decided to improve life for our Micronesian wards. Thousands of civil servants journeyed to the islands to supervise, education, hygiene and various sociological programs. Financial aid followed, of course, about one thousand dollars per native. It is estimated that an average of 162 of each thousand is regularly invested in bottle goods. This has led to further advantages of civilization such as alcoholism and crime. One does not go for an evening stroll neath the coconut palms unless one wants to get bopped on the noggin and not by a falling coconut. The natives do not go forth at day break in their canoes to spear fish for a luau. Japanese fishing boats have caught the fish which are canned and sent back to the island for sale. Somehow it's hard to get romantic over a can opener. Our touring couple asked an elderly man what it was like under the Japanese occupation during the war and he said, "Very bad. Much work, no money." Then they asked how it was under good old Uncle Sugar and he answered, "No work, plenty money." A plebiscite was held offering the people a choice between economic development and welfare. Welfare won by a country mile. The growth in population is increasing and like feeding deer, we've made the natives on this island so totally dependent on our help, there would be great suffering if we put them back on their own. The rice fields are gone and the mills are idle and deteriorating. But hold on to your dream, our touring couple sailed onto another island and, while it showed some signs of modern day culture, it was still South Pacific as it should be, largely due to the efforts of missionaries who feel their duty is to impart religion and the dignity of honest toil. There's a lesson in here someplace. Both government and the missionaries have the same motive; they want to help the islanders. Maybe government should try bringing God instead of gold. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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