Fade into history?
I’m writing about a controversial topic in the islands: the discussion of whether the Hawaiian Islands is a sovereign nation, separate from the United States. In my opinion, I don’t see why people think this is America, as the overwhelming amount of evidence proves it is not.
In fact, the only reason people think Hawaii is an actual part of the U.S. is because, and only because, they have heard one side of a story more than a hundred years ago. If you have heard the story of the “overthrow,” then I’m sure most were unaware of the Blount Report, which proved Hawaii was unlawfully occupied.
I’m not sure many people also know that President Grover Cleveland said the queen was to be restored to her throne six months after the overthrow. When 1898 rolled around, President William McKinley annexed the Hawaiian Islands (illegally, I might add). This was against international law at the time and even today, since either one or all of these three things had to have happened:
1. A treaty of annexation had to be signed.
2. There had to have been a valid reason to occupy and annex.
3. And/or Hawaii had to not be recognized as a nation by any other nation at the time.
The fact none of these three things were true — yet McKinley annexing Hawaii is thought of as OK — is truly mind-boggling. Yet, for some reason, people think nothing was wrong with America, an “ally” of Hawaii, occupying and illegally nationalizing our population for nearly 125 years. Or they think we’re never going to become our own sovereign nation again because we’ve been occupied for 125 years.
Frankly, what has been going on for the past century and a quarter is a tragic example of ethnocide and, unfortunately, slow-acting genocide. The longer we try to keep the veil on this facade, the more our culture, and eventually, our people, will fade into nothing but pages on a history book.
Nicolas Godines
Hilo
Solving MD shortage
The big talk in the past few years on the Big Island is the critical doctor shortage, including physicians, specialists, surgeons and even nurses. I have a creative solution for this diabolical crisis on our island.
There are hundreds of thousands of acres of former sugar cane lands sitting empty and just playing host to mega-tons of useless and ugly elephant grass. What a sickening waste. Let’s use a drop of this land as a win-win to solve this problem for our communities.
I propose the state and county work together to allocate just 400 acres to be used as an incentive for practitioners in the medical field all around the world to move to the Big Island to set up their practices and provide their much-needed medical services. Who wouldn’t want to own a piece of paradise and make a living in the most beautiful place on Earth?
The acreage would be divided into four 100-acre sections located at the critical sites on the island (Hilo side, perhaps Wainaku or Papaikou mauka, providing scenic views).
The sites would be subdivided further into 3-acre fee simple lots, with basic utility and road infrastructure provided. Each person would have to finance and build their own home, and we would assist with banks to help in that.
I predict once the word gets out, we will never again experience a doctor shortage. And what a boom for our economy, creating jobs in construction and the medical field.
Too many of us are falling ill and dying needlessly. Let’s fix this now. It’s a win-win. It’s a no-brainer.
Kawika Crowley
Hilo
