HERE'S THE PLAIN TRUTH - HAWAIIANS DON'T WANT FEDERAL RECOGNITION OR THE AKAKA BILL!
The Honolulu Advertiser - Letters to the Editor
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
You continue to publish articles extolling the benefits of the Akaka bill (articles by Beadie Kanahele Dawson and Bill Meheula, Sunday).
There seem to be two main arguments for the Akaka bill:
* It would eliminate challenges to federal funding for programs benefiting Hawaiians.
When will Hawaiians learn that we cannot rely on the federal government for funds, particularly when the government is facing a massive spending deficit and is in the control of a party that has never shown much interest in the problems of minorities?
Because of the power of Sen. Daniel Inouye, Hawai'i has presence in Washington that is far beyond its due. With all due respect to our other senator and congressmen, when Hawai'i no longer has Sen. Inouye to represent us, our little state 5,000 miles from the seat of power will be thought of only as an American military base far out in the Pacific Ocean.
We should not then be surprised if federal handouts for Hawaiian programs suddenly dry up or are seriously curtailed.
* It would somehow revive a Hawaiian nation.
It would instead be a make-believe nation that would isolate and wall off Hawaiians from the rest of Hawai'i's people and the life of our land.
Only by achieving an independent Hawai'i can we have a true Hawaiian nation. In a few generations, people with Hawaiian blood will be the largest ethnic group in Hawai'i. With a sovereign Hawaiian nation, we can realize our true destiny. We can control our own values and not have them dictated by waves of rich new immigrants and investors, whether from the Mainland or other foreign places.
We should not discount the reality of creating an independent Hawai'i. In our world, new nations are continually being created from parts of existing nations.
The Akaka bill is an old-person's solution. Its thesis is again going hat in hand to the federal government for help and turning Hawaiians inward in their own land. For more than a hundred years, this has not worked.
Instead, we can seize the opportunity to create a dynamic new nation through which we can maintain our culture and values, have more control over our future and be a leader among the Pacific nations.
Let that be our legacy to our future generations.
Allen W. Wooddell
Waimea, Hawai'i
