Your Views for December 15

Science works

It amazes me how some people give praise to their religious figurehead for treating them for some medical condition (Brian and Joyce Mukai, Your Views, Dec. 11), when in fact the ones who deserve recognition are the medics, first and foremost.

To whom would they be offering thanks if they were not born or raised in an English-speaking country? Would it be some other wishful deity and not Jesus Christ, perhaps?

The couple goes on to recognize the medics for their skills, yet they never mention Jesus again. I wonder why. Perhaps he wasn’t there to assist the members of the medical community in the first place. So what good is he?

I wonder if Christ is all powerful, why he inflicted a person with an illness in the first place? Magic, perhaps.

Please don’t get me wrong: Anyone can believe in anything they want. But for me, I’ll take my chances with science and not some make-believe figure.

Michael L. Last

Naalehu

Nene tragedy

On Thursday, Nov. 26, Hawaii lost two endangered and distinguished residents.

During my daily cardiac power walk in Hawaiian Paradise Park, approaching the corner of Paradise and Paradise

Ala Kai, I was shocked to come upon the freshly crushed bodies of two Nene geese. Another stood quietly erect next to his lifeless companions.

The geese had been enjoying the temporary shallow pond created by the prior downpour. Their leg bands shone prominent in the clear water. Gently touching these motorist casualties, their bodies were still warm. No one was present in the soft rain, particularly the motorist at fault..

Shortly, adjacent neighbors appeared to make phone calls to express their dismay and grief. We removed the bodies to prevent any further possible traffic desecration.

The neighbors stated that speeding vehicles is a chronic problem, jeopardizing neighborhood safety in general, aside from threatening local animal life, particularly the nene geese. Frustration was shared about attempts previously made by local families petitioning to have speed bumps installed and signs posted. To date, these concerns have been nixed by Hawaiian Paradise Park administrative authorities.

Fifty years ago, as the world’s rarest goose, nenes were on the precipice of extinction. Given strong state advocacy, and passage of the Environmental Protection Act, Hawaii’s Center for Biological Diversity was able to make aggressive recovery and protective efforts.

Today, the state census is about 3,000 from the original nearly extinct 30. The current official designation of nenes is “a threatened species,” down-listed from the previous “endangered” status.

These challenging times leave scant margin for passivity. Hawaii and the globe will be less if this irreplaceable species was to be lost, aside from ecological impact factors. This issue is unfortunately endemic in many nations, however this is Hawaii.

So, where lies the greater culpability and potential for transformative change? Is it the inattentive driver, those who speed, those stained in sadism, or those lost in self-indulgent narcissism and cathected to electronics in motion?

Science validates that significant behavioral change would nearly require divine intervention. Similarly, there is a minimal monetary base for redemptive action.

Therefore, united and persistent community campaigning must apply to administrative authority. Your dynamic vote can make the difference!

Nene lives also matter!

Jim Barker

Hawaiian Paradise Park