The two-state solution seems appropriate for both Palestine/Israel and Alaska. Let the Mat-Su and Anchorage constitute their own states, with a capital in either place. And the rest of us will gladly constitute another Alaska state with all the oil, all the fish, all the mineral wealth, nearly all the tourism and the fish. You can gladly have what is left in the Mat-Su region and the Municipality of Anchorage. Good luck!
The tragedy of our political situation is that while most of the votes and political power do, in reality, reside in “the Valley” and “the city,” all the resources are, in fact, rural. But when the villages of Alaska ask for police protection, health care or education, their legitimate requests are dismissed as a hand-out, as welfare, as charity to the “unworthy.”
Alaska is best when we realize our indigenous languages, cultures and perspectives are a valuable heritage we should all appreciate, and when our common history is embraced and celebrated. But the folks in the so-called “new Alaska” are, tragically, the most ignorant of this legacy and are eager to separate. That is tragic. We need each other.
Let’s work together for a prosperous, harmonious and exciting future and learn from each other, be enriched by each other and learn to delight in each other in the decades to come.
— Rev. Michael J. Oleksa
Anchorage
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