Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Donald Trump

Remembering Puerto Ricans–Americans–on Thanksgiving

Juan Cole 11/23/2017

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – –

Many Puerto Ricans are spending Thanksgiving on the mainland, away from home and family and friends, as climate refugees. I guess this catastrophe is something that should be on our minds on this day of feasting.

Thanksgiving was a northern, regional holiday until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln promulgated its as a way of creating a national symbol to incorporate even the alienated South. Thanksgiving needs to continue that work of national integration today, with regard to Puerto Rico. It should be remembered that they didn’t ask for us. We invaded during the Spanish-American War of 1898 on the grounds that we regretted their lack of liberty under the crown. Then we kept the island as a territory and gave the inhabitants citizenship.

If you don’t have water and electricity you don’t have liberty.

Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Unless we are going to go whole hog and admit that some citizens have fewer rights than others, then our country needs to do a better job of restoring electricity and other services on the island after the devastation of this year’s hurricane.

There are 20 states that are smaller in population (i.e. fewer Americans live there) than Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has more Americans in residence than do Nebraska or Kansas.

Being made homeless or left without food, or potable water, or electricity, is something that happens to someone else, not to you. Until it does.

Many of Puerto Rico’s power plants are operating at 50% efficiency all these months later. Only about half of Puerto Ricans have electricity. They can’t read this blog post. Worse, if they need medical equipment to operate in hospitals, it doesn’t.

Some 20% of Puerto Ricans do not have drinkable tap water.

Roads, infrastructure, medical care and personal security are all still inadequate all these weeks later.

On Thanksgiving, we are one voice as Americans. In Spanish that is Somos una Voz. That’s the site Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez among others created to help these stranded Americans. Let’s all pitch in.

——

Related video added by Juan Cole:


Puerto Rico’s power problem

Filed Under: Donald Trump, Featured, Puerto Rico, racism

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Are Cyberattacks and Iran's Port Explosion the First Salvo in Disrupting U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks?
  • Removing Syria Sanctions is a Win for the People, Whatever Trump's Motives
  • Even as it Strikes Deals with Trump, the Gulf Embraces Chinese Tech Giants
  • Can we Even Remember it? How America was Disappeared before our Eyes
  • Pope Leo XIV’s Link to Haiti is Part of a broader American Story of Race, Citizenship and Migration

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved