Free Hawai`i

AKAKA BILL OFFERS RECONCILIATION NOT REMEDY

Maui News - March 23, 2010

The March 14 Viewpoint writer is correct, the purpose of the Akaka Bill is reconciliation. Reconciliation is defined as the renewal of amicable relations between two persons who have been at enmity or variance; usually implying forgiveness of injuries on one or both sides.

The Akaka Bill, however, has nothing to do with reparation or restitution - defined as payment for an injury or damage; redress for a wrong done and an equitable remedy under which a person is restored to his or her original position prior to loss or injury.

The only egregious mistake the U.S. made was that it never ratified the treaty annexing Hawai`i. This mistake is the cause of the "special relationship between the US and Native Hawaiians," the reason the Akaka Bill is necessary for the U.S.

Had there been an annexation treaty in 1898, there would be no such thing as Native Hawaiians. They would have been assimilated as Americans.

What the Akaka Bill does not offer is remedy, defined as the means by which a right is enforced or the violation of a right is prevented, redressed or compensated.

In plain terms, Congress wants Native Hawaiians to forgive the US for taking away their country with no promise of repairing the damage or restoring anything.

The Viewpoint writer writes "others accuse Hawaiians of being racists; or as traitors and idiots for not demanding the whole pie." Maybe he knows something he's not sharing with the rest of us.

Dan Taylor
Haiku, Maui