Patriotism has taken a few hits in recent times, its reputation shattered but not damaged beyond repair.
It used to be that patriotism was connected to an emotional attachment to the country one calls home. One dictionary source refers to “devoted love, support and defense of one’s own country; national loyalty.”
It was always defined in those general terms, but more recently we’ve seen an angry clutch of folks who are on board with politicians calling for this religion to be banned from entering the country, or that group of immigrants to be denied admission.
They want to build walls, these people, with the intent to resist change, to disavow the basic structure of a country that was founded by immigrants and has always intended to be a country with an open door.
Graciously, most of us on their Big Island don’t share these views, owing to a cultural understanding that respects the past and the country in ways that might be difficult for some to grasp.
We swim in culture here, it is a part of most things we do on a regular basis, how we communicate, what we eat, what we choose to wear. It comes out in vivid color and impressive, spiritual detail in the annual week in the Merrie Monarch Festival, but it doesn’t end there, it just takes a half time break.
The culture continues this week when Hilo hosts the 81st State AJA (Americans of Japanese Ancestry) Baseball Championship Tournament at Wong stadium this weekend. It travels through Kauai, Oahu, Maui and the Big Island on an annual basis, so it will be four years before it returns.
The short season baseball leagues run from December to March with teams from around the state playing in their own county leagues, followed by league championship games, all of it culminating in the tournament this weekend.
The origin of baseball here is traced to Alexander Cartwright who established rules for the New York Knickerbockers Ball Club in 1849, four years before he moved to Oahu and began introducing the sport to the islands. Cartwright, buried in an Oahu cemetery, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., where he is recognized as the “Founder of Modern Baseball.”
Impressive beginning, and Cartwright’s impetus gave way to organization by Christian minister Takie Okumura, who also arrived in 1894 and began starting, among other things, a Japanese YMCA, churches, boarding schools and yes, baseball teams.
“It goes back that far if you want to look at very start,” said league president Royden Okunami, “but in modern times, we look to 1969 when the name Hawaii AJA Memorial Baseball League was given its current name.
“People used to know more about us, but over time, the way the world has changed, the way people lead their lives these days, we seem to have been forgotten somewhat. The older people know about us, but the younger ones? I don’t think they know, it doesn’t seem like they do.”
That’s a shame because of the unique understanding of this group and its special love for the game of baseball.
“We are, first of all, people who believe we are Americans first, our ancestry comes after that,” said Curtis Chong, publicist of the group. “People know the history of the Nisei, the 100th infantry battalion that fought so courageously in (World War II).”
That is as comprehensive a statement on patriotism as you are likely to read from anyone and Chong and Okunami both stress the cultural understanding is paramount.
In the program for this weekend’s tournament, Chong wrote, “If we play without character and forget the sacrifices before us, the win or the loss is meaningless.”
The legacy continues.
“We are a unique organization,” Chong said last week, “we are here to recognize our special tradition and culture which is that our people of Japanese ancestry fought for loyalty to America, our country, our only country, and it isn’t based on race or ancestry, religion, nothing else, it’s about being proud of our role as Americans.”
If the high school players competing this weekend don’t completely understand the mission, they will before they leave. There will be ceremonies recognizing regular season MVP Kiley Kawazoe, batting champion Michael Sayaboc (.588 average), and RBI champion Avery Kagawa (13), and underpinning the point that brought them all together, way back when.
It speaks to the core of patriotism and Okunami, at 82, one year older than the league itself, isn’t about to change courses. When asked about how some politicians have been trying to change the meaning of the word, he stood firm.
“That’s not something I want to think about,” he said. “The people involved in AJA here understand what we are about and our mission will not change.”
That’s worth a salute and maybe an inspiration to take in a game later this week. In America, you won’t likely find a better cause.
