So much England in so Little Antigua

I come from a tiny island amidst the Caribbean, right in between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is very small in comparison to huge modern empires like The United States or most of Eurasia. And so, like the tropical island Antigua, I share the same feeling of helplessness when faced with a mighty political giant, such as England was to Antiguans. In her novel, "A Small Place", Jamaica Kincaid writes very openly about the strained relationship between Antigua and England. Antigua was considered, like Puerto Rico, a colony and its people were expected to kneel before the new regime. However, after many years of colonization, Antigua managed to achieve its independence from England. Puerto Rico only did so from Spain by a war that passed on the island from one empire to the next: The United States. We were handed to U.S.A as if the whole island population were a piece in a game of chess. No one ever asked about the culture that was already in the island pre-Spain or post-Spain, no one bothered with the people's concerns with the English language, and no one cared if Puerto Rico wanted indepedence: we were, essentially, a geographical advantage and strategic piece of land to The United States. In Antigua, England implemented its laws, customs, language, and even street names, among others. They even had holidays that revered political figures- does that upcoming February 18th holiday sound familiar to this situation? Exactly. In Puerto Rico we have roads and avenues that refer to American icons, that God knows what they did to deserve such honors. We celebrate President's Day for crying out loud, when we can't even vote for the candidate.


Where does the boundary that divides Puerto Rican and   American culture start and where does it end? To this day, it is a very blurry line. We, as a whole, have had to assimilate to a new culture, language and customs in order to fit into the American territory standards. We mimic their every move in hopes that maybe one day they'll notice us and let us join them as a state. But, is it truly natural to want to be a state or has that idea been inculcated in our belief system because we've grown up idolizing the powerful U.S.A? I believe we want to be recognized as worthy of greatness and we desperately want to make America responsible for helping us achieve it.