system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: if great britain not giving the 13 US colonies representation in parliament was so unfair, it's not fair that guam/puerto rico/all the US territories don't get representation in congress.

edit: thank you all so much! you've helped me to see many of the reasons why my opinion was flawed. i will be tapping out of the conversation. thanks once again!

yeah, basically what the title says. the 13 colonies (basically british territories, but more self sufficient than US territories) didn't get representation in parliament, which let to the american war of independence. so why doesn't the US give the us territories representatives in congress? i understand that the colonists basically self-governed, but they still had to follow british rule and pay taxes to britain, so they wanted representation. "no taxation w/o representation" so since people in US territories pay some taxes to the US government, they should get some voting representatives in congress, right? i think the main thing i'm unsure of is that the us territories aren't as self-sustained as the 13 colonies.
gpt
There are pros & cons to it. 

The biggest difference is that US territories don’t pay federal taxes, they just pay taxes to their local governments. 

So they have less direct influence over national policy, but they also don’t have to adhere to it in the same ways that states do . So they can make laws that are uniquely specific to being a territory.

For example, though English is mandatory, they still primarily use Spanish. This would put them at a significant disadvantage when it comes to following national policy, which will dramatically affect their unique culture. 

So being a territory means you have the full protection of the US without necessarily needing to be a part of the process. 

I mean one prime example of this is Hawaii. While they still maintain a lot of their unique Hawaiian heritage, it’s been completely Americanized. A place like Puerto Rico would effectively experience gentrification.