It is important to determine which issues are relevant to this discussion, and which issues are designed to confuse the rational thought process and shift the collective focus of an entire people from the challenges that we have ahead of us. I am specifically referring to the issue of the culture and language of Puerto Rico. The debate over culture has on occasions been very passionate and irrational. However, when we decide on the direction we must take, we cannot afford the luxury of making a decision based on passion alone. Even though passions play an important role in our idiosyncrasies, the future of our children demands a rational, objective and thorough approach.
Culture can mean different things to different people.
If we take the closest dictionary we can find and we study the definition of culture we find therein, we can begin a more serious debate based on a commonly accepted definition. Depending on the dictionary you happen to have lying around, there may be some subtle differences, but we can probably reach a consensus on what culture really means. The debate of culture and language has taken what in this author's opinion is a nonproductive and irrelevant turn. Let us consider this premise carefully. In a free and democratic society, citizens have the right to read, listen and express their ideas without governmental intervention.