It is early in the morning, and I am trying to write a letter addressing some of President Trump’s policies and their impact on people. Memories of my parents and their love of America begin this letter.
My father passed away in 1956. He first came to Hawaii during the war and annexation of Korea. It is believed he is the only survivor of his entire family of that war.
Father first lived and farmed in Kapoho before moving to Olaa to work at Olaa Sugar Plantation. In so many ways, he reminded us of how lucky we were to be in America, a country with no worries about the government and surrounded with people who cared and helped.
My mother passed away in 1984 and was the strength and glue of the family and never forgot the good and nice people who helped in all ways, but especially when giving birth to her children in a home with no power and a water tank. Mom lived to see all her eight children graduate from college.
Yes, we all worked very hard and always were reminded how fortunate we are to live in the United States of America and the good and caring people of Hawaii.
The United States of America is guided by laws and the Constitution that became the framework of our country in 1789. These are the first words of our precious and beautiful Constitution, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote a general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
This is written because of the belief that some people elected to serve, led by President Trump, are for self and not country. This is about the real threat of losing the country’s democracy. This about a president who cares only about self and not for balancing the budget and above all, not for you. This is about Trump, who wants to be a dictator of the United States of America at any cost.
July 2024,
New York Times
At the gathering of Christian Conservatives urging people to vote for him, Donald Trump said, “In four years you do not have to vote again. We’ll have it so fixed, so good, you’re not going to have to vote.”
February 2025
Appointed by Ronald Reagan, Judge John Coughenour, responding to a lawsuit filed by Democratic governors of Trump’s Executive Order rescinding birthright citizenship for children of undocumented or temporary immigrants, “The president cannot change, limit or quantify this constitutional right by executive order. It has become more apparent to our president the Rule of Order is according to him something to navigate or simply ignore.”
February 2025
President Trump has declared that 80 or so years of membership in a cadre of countries with democratic ideals is no longer the path the the United States will be following. Instead, President Trump last week decided to join forces with Russia and Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian countries such as China and North Korea. In doing so, Trump has withdrawn support for Ukraine at a critical time and declined association with our European allies in NATO, the most successful alliance of like-minded democracies in modern history.
February 2025
Irish Catholic Bishop Michael Router of the Archdiocese of Anmough said, “Let this be a message to anyone who calls themselves a Christian. You cannot support Donald Trump’s cruel, fascist policies and claim to follow the compassionate teachings of Jesus Christ.”
I fully know of the extreme difficulty of anyone accepting the reality of the loss of our democracy in the United States of America. I recommend reading the Tribune Herald commentary of Monday Feb. 17, by Erwin Chemerinsky of the Los Angeles Times, “Signposts on the road to authoritarian rule.” This provides a more comprehensive perspective of this issue.
We should all be aware of the real threat of the loss of our democracy. The dedicated people of our government need the people’s help in stopping this train driven by a power-crazed madman. It is the people that can and will make the difference in saving the most precious democracy of the world, for the world.
Imua Kakou (Going Forward Together).
Thank you for reading this. Thank you for your care.
Harry Kim is a former mayor of Hawaii County and former Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator.
