Letters to the Editor
Don't forget children during this tragedy
The recent events have presented us with horrifying pictures of disasters and caused us to spend many somber moments contemplating the future of our families, friends, communities, state, nation and the world.
In the United States and around the world, children have lost their normal lives, their families and the needed sense of security about their future. As adults, we have the responsibility to nurture, guide and protect all children.
While taking the time to honor those who were lost, I urge everyone to forge ahead with our shared goal of making Hawai'i the best place for young children and their families. We can lead by example of how people of different races, religions and cultures can come together, respect each other and together build a brighter future for our children.
Our children need us to be strong. They need to have safe and caring places. They need to see us caring and respecting others. The impressions we make on our young children last a lifetime. They will need all the strength, knowledge, self-esteem, courage and love that we can give them.
The future is theirs; we must prepare them well to face the challenges ahead.
Elisabeth Chun
Executive Director, Good Beginnings Alliance
Let's name Sept. 11 Good Samaritan's Day
What number do we call when our lives are in danger? 911. So now this date, 9/11, has much deeper meaning for us.
We should name this date Good Samaritan's Day to help us remember the firefighters, police officers, EMTs, rescue workers and volunteers who risk their lives in order to save others.
Their love and courage have deeply touched our hearts and souls. Their brave deeds should be remembered forever.
Cecilia Graybeal
We all should strive to make a better world
We can never succeed in arming ourselves against hatred, yet if we can dissolve the hate, we will not need to be armed.
I would hope that rather than spending tens of billions of dollars fortifying ourselves against attack, we instead direct our efforts toward helping the less fortunate peoples of this world, our neighbors, achieve the same joys of life that we have achieved. In so doing, we make this a better world while securing our own happiness and our own freedom.
We, as thousands did on Sept. 11, will all find ourselves in the hands of our creator someday and, until then, let us be guided by light rather than darkness. Let us know that our brothers and sisters killed on that Tuesday are merely one step ahead of us in their journey, and when we again join them, we will leave this world in a better place than when they left.
Kelly Greenwell
Kailua-Kona
Our legislators must react to today's reality
In the wake of the World Trade Center attack, our beaches are deserted and our hotels and airplanes are half-empty. Our tax revenues must be plummeting.
Our Legislature increased state spending a whopping 12 percent this year, anticipating boom times. We must have a special session to cut state spending.
They need to get their 'okole into the Capitol and undo the damage they wrought.
Jim Henshaw
Kailua
There's a better way for airport security
I propose an airport security system that would return air travel to normal and yet achieve adequate security. We need it for the long term, especially after a few months when we tire of waiting two or three hours to board a flight.
We all know that we're looking for "a needle in a haystack" when it comes to screening for hijackers; 99.999 percent of us are peaceful travelers — let's take advantage of that fact. Furthermore, low-paid security officers soon will return to the drudgery of the past. We need something new but effective.
The proposed system would be a voluntary one based on fingerprints. A U.S. citizen would apply for prescreening at local police stations by filling out an application and giving a thumbprint, which would be sent to the FBI for processing. Then, when entering airport security, the traveler could choose to have a thumb image taken along with his name. If these match and his record is clean, the traveler would go through the security as we now have it. If not, or if the traveler is not prescreened, then the new intense and permanent security measures take place.
The technology to do this is currently available. It will take time to implement, but it's doable.
Geoffrey E. Hill
Play Hawai'i's strength as a safe destination
What may help Hawai'i now and in the future is the under-advertised fact of being the safest tourist destination in the world.
The military presence here, with its intelligence capability, together with the sheer numbers of armed and trained personnel, offer both real and psychologically comforting protection to tourists and residents alike.
Maybe the State of Hawai'i needs to examine a proposal to sponsor its own guards on all incoming and outgoing flights, and encourage a more visible military, while advertising this fact.
Edward H. Lewis
Kailua
Warnings of economic doom are misplaced
It seems as though there is a great rush by the local media to be the first to cry "wolf" when it comes to our current economic situation.
The television news reporters seem to take relish in showing empty streets and stores, not mentioning the obvious fact that those who were going to be here simply couldn't get here. Now those who still have their travel plans in place to come here will hear the doomsayers talking, and what do you think will happen? Have you heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy?
I have spoken with many in the vacation rental business for Hawai'i, and it seems as if many have had one of the best weeks ever after the attack for Hawai'i bookings. Doesn't exactly sound like gloom and doom coming up for us, does it?
You've got to look further than just today to get the big picture — just because we're looking at a few dry trees does not mean that the forest is about to go up in flames, but it will if we keep believing it will.
Scott Martin
Kilauea, Kaua'i
Get terrorists, yes, but not the innocent
How sad that people like Kamila Anderson write letters to urge the United States to become an international terrorist by "nuking 'em." If we use violence on innocent people, we are terrorists too.
Anyone who has followed the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts should see that "tit for tat" violence achieves nothing. Certainly we should try to find those who planned the attacks on our country and bring them to justice. We must increase our security measures.
And we should put all possible pressure on world banks to stop the flow of money to any terrorist organization. (We could use Osama bin Laden's own money to put a price on his head.)
Let me quote from a Sept. 14 Advertiser editorial: "Meanwhile, the unpleasant reality lingers that a military solution is almost sure to encourage more, not less, fanatic terrorism. The ultimate solution — slow, painstaking and not immediately gratifying — is to find ways to convince those who hate us that we honestly understand their human aspirations and have no desire to squash them. It's doubtful that many Americans are in the mood to absorb that reality in the heat of this moment. But it's a reality that must not be lost on (President) Bush."
Richard Miller
'Aiea
Retaliation will breed even more retaliation
At the end of perhaps the most devastating week I have ever witnessed, albeit from afar, I find myself compelled to express my deep concerns about the turning point we now face.
Though peace-loving, I share in the sentiment of punishing, very decisively, all who were responsible for the unthinkable acts of destruction and murder in New York and Washington, D.C. I, too, want to have such evil washed from the face of this Earth.
However, I am deeply fearful. Retaliation will be met with further retaliation — a cycle of violence that, for many people, has gone on for centuries. I agree with The Advertiser's editorial that we must urge our decision-makers and, most importantly, our president to look beyond the immediate need to get revenge.
We all need to understand why we are so vehemently hated by those known as our enemies, and how our foreign policies affect common people in far reaches of the world. Unless we get to the core of the problem, and find long-term solutions, we will allow this hatred to grow even more fervently and dangerously.
I gain hope from the words of the astute, that we must go beyond retaliation and move toward reconciliation. Unfortunately, these words are overshadowed by those of war and vengeance.
I ask every person who cares for our future, and that of our children's future, to urge our government leaders to have the wisdom and courage to stop the cycle of violence by avoiding war and choosing solutions based on universal values of respect, caring and responsibility — for the future of our world.
Pauline Sato
Majority must not influence rule of law
The authors of "Silent majority must speak up now in support of the Army" (Jim Tollefson and Lily Yao, Focus, Sept. 9) seem to be saying two things in presuming to appoint themselves as leaders of the "silent majority."
First, they are using scare tactics to promote the unproven threat that the armed forces will substantially pull back from O'ahu should the court ruling concerning live-fire training in Makua not be in the Army's favor. Other than rumor, I do not believe they have presented any proof to substantiate this scare tactic.
Second, they seem to be attempting to get people to try to influence a court decision by pressuring the court. A court cannot and should not be influenced by the public or any other pressure or concern except the rule of law. If a court on which we all depend for impartiality can be in any way influenced by outside pressure, then we should all be frightened for our basic system of security.
Berna Mings
Makaha
'Freedom is not free'
Regarding your Sept. 18 editorial "New security measures must not ruin freedoms": Our nation has developed some self-serving notions of what freedom is. Get a grip. Freedom is not fashioned to serve the individual, but rather the good of all, and "freedom is not free."
Carolyn Thomas
Volcano
Message to America: It's our turn to help
Over the last week, I have been greatly moved by the heroism of Americans. I think of the New York firefighters rushing up the stairs to save fellow citizens and the brave passengers of Flight 93 who moved to overthrow the terrorists.
The actions of these individuals are driven by the love of America and their fellow citizens. They reconfirm and reinforce our own feelings about this country.
Let us not forget important messages from past presidents:
• John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Terrorism requires an active response from the American government and, just as importantly, its citizens. Carry your cellular phones everywhere. Enter into speed dial the key numbers of the police, emergency response and your families.
Keep your eyes open, but do not racial profile (there is a difference). Watch over suspicious activity and guard America as you would your neighborhood. Be the extra eyes and ears of the U.S. government.
Millions of Americans with cell phones form a powerful surveillance and communication tool. A national hotline could be established so that citizens, whether they are on the sea or in the air, will know where to immediately call so that information can be instantaneously conveyed to a centralized, appropriate authority.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." For air travelers, be patient with security and have no fear. With increased security, you are just as safe as climbing into your car. Do not let your fear of flying cancel any trips. Nevertheless, you must always prepare for the worst.
Citizens support sealing the cockpit so that no one, other than the pilot, is allowed near the controls. If there is a similar incident, we encourage the pilots to maneuver the plane so that no one in the cabin can stand. The passengers will buckle up and hold on.
As suggested by the Airline Pilots Association, passengers should be alert and fight back if necessary, using their greater numbers to proper advantage.
To the families of the New York rescue workers and the passengers of Flight 93, please take comfort in knowing your loved ones' actions saved lives and inspire the country to be more active in protecting our fellow citizens.
Dennis Hwang
