Letters to the Editor
We should honor those who defend our freedom
As Americans, we should be more thankful than many of us realize for the honor, courage, sacrifice and dedication of the men and women in our armed forces. We should honor those living, wounded and dead who have defended our freedom and security for more than two centuries.
In truth, the world and Americans themselves have held them to higher standards than any other military. And they have constantly met and surpassed those standards — suffering insults and silly criticisms along the way.
We all should be very grateful that there are those who are willing to fight and defend our freedom for all of us. Too many of us take our freedom for granted because most of us never had to risk our lives to defend it.
It is a sad irony that so many abuse the freedom of speech by using it to undermine the soldiers who defend it. As our soldiers were dying in the Middle East, it must have been heart-rending for the military families to see anti-war and anti-American protesters still going strong and thereby encouraging the Iraqis to continue fighting to kill Americans rather than surrendering.
One young female anti-war protester actually said she was doing the most patriotic act by exercising her free speech. No one told her that the most patriotic thing was giving your life to defend that free speech.
Hopefully, our brave and dedicated men and women in the armed forces realize that the vast majority of Americans support them with all our hearts. Our soldiers should ignore those like the Dixie Chicks and the anti-American Hollywood celebrity types. I sometimes think that some of these anti-American celebrities fool themselves into thinking that their star status magically translates into global political policy genius.
Our military pays the lonely price of being the defender of a benevolent super power. Enemies of freedom hate them too much and fear them not enough because of our military's great respect for human life and vulnerability to human shield tactics. Americans have got to realize how special our soldiers are and how everyone holds them to different and higher standards than other armies.
Most victorious armies are blamed for looting the defeated country. When the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, looting and rape were rampant. The Iraqis stole everything they could get their hands on. But that was not a huge story to most of the world back then. The huge news to the world was not that our soldiers were looters (because they were not), but supposedly we allowed the Iraqis to loot their own cities. It is amazing that the obvious irony was lost on so many.
Despite ridiculous criticism to the contrary, the reality is that the U.S. did the right and smart thing by initially not using force on the Iraqi civilians to stop the looting. Obviously, the world media, especially al-Jazeera, were eager to film American soldiers using force on civilians so that more anti-American fervor could be created. By waiting to use force, our Army outsmarted our enemies because we got them to call for use of force to stop the looting.
Only a few days into the Iraq War, there were headlines about our ground forces' supposed "pause" due to poor planning, as if we should have already won. What other military could have won that quickly?
Our fighters do their best not to kill innocent civilians, while our current enemies purposely target innocent civilians. When we kill civilians, it is an accident and we investigate our own people. When the terrorists murder innocent civilians, there is dancing in their streets. While our enemies use civilians as human shields, our soldiers are vilified when the human shields do get killed and very little noise is made about the enemy that is responsible.
Our fighting men and women are special. I am proud to be an American and supremely proud of our armed forces. I think Winston Churchill once said, "Never have so many owed so much to so few."
One of the ways we could support our troops is by donating to organizations like the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (www.nmcrs.org).
Leighton Loo
Mililani
Memorial Day isn't just another day to shop
Shortly after the Civil War, a group of Southern ladies went to a local cemetery to place flowers on the graves of the Confederate war dead. Looking over at the barren Union graves, they felt moved that each grave also contained some mother's son who had died fighting for his country and, regardless of the politics of the day that drove the war, they placed flowers on those graves as well.
The practice soon became a tradition, and "Decoration Day," as it was first known, came into being.
After World War I, by presidential order, the unofficial holiday gave way to the official holiday now known as Memorial Day. It is the one day each year when all Americans, regardless of politics, honor those brave men and women of our armed forces who were killed in the defense of our nation.
I think it is important that all of us be reminded that today is not just another day to shop at the mall or go to the beach. It is the one time each year to stop for a few moments and remember men like Cpl. Steve Benzilins, USMC, killed in action during Desert Storm, and all those brave men and women who gave their lives during Operation Iraqi Freedom and in all our wars so that we can live in freedom.
God bless them all.
Robert W. Holub
Sergeant major of the Marine Corps (retired)
I'll pay more taxes to improve education
I know that I may be in the minority and that I should prepare myself for the onslaught of negative comments, but I am ready: I would not hesitate to pay more taxes.
There, I said it. If it means that more funding would go directly to the schools and we parents could see forward progress being made — I say raise my taxes.
There is something wrong when my Mililani High School sophomore brings home his history book and inside the front cover, on the world map, still lies the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall. Where are our priorities?
We pay a town association fee to keep our community lovely and groomed, but we are willing to sit back and let our kids "learn" from 20-year-old history books? I, for one, could swallow a tax that allows my children to learn.
Mary J. Zdyrski
Mililani
Keep Brunch, Sunset on Beach, torch-lighting
Please don't be shortsighted. Keep Brunch and Sunset on the Beach, torch-lighting and the other Waikiki activities. They're not just for tourists.
Families can enjoy entertainers and movies that they might not see if they had to pay admission.
For tourists, what a wonderful way to observe the spirit of aloha and share Hawaiian culture through music and dance. This open-air gathering of people of all ages and from many locations and cultures is what O'ahu is all about — the Gathering Place.
Brunch on the Beach gave us the Merrie Monarch Miss Aloha Hula winners and other dancers. The keiki were adorable. There were fine musicians and singers, and the program was topped off by Maunalua. I know I sound like an advertisement, but it is simply personal enthusiasm.
Waikiki is special. It has long been the subject of songs and tropical dreams. My Uncle Webley Edwards let the world know Waikiki was an island paradise on the radio/TV program "Hawai'i Calls."
Let's continue to celebrate Waikiki. Blow the conch shell. Light the torches.
Beverly McCrystal
Amy Kotani hustled to perfect her game
What a wonderful story about Amy Kotani in your May 20 paper. I have watched Amy grow into a wonderful human being and also watched her struggle through some of her most painful moments. It was very refreshing to read your article.
What you failed to mention was that even when Amy did not have practices or workouts, she'd still find other pick-up games at Halawa Gym, Moanalua and Pearl City, to name a few, until late at night.
Amy has worked hard at her game. I have a daughter who idolizes Amy and her commitment to basketball. She does not only excel on the court but in the classroom.
My daughter has often said that she would like to be as good as Amy one day. UH would miss out on a great and committed player such as Amy if it doesn't take a serious look at her. I am very proud of her and wish her continued success in all that she does.
Congratulations on your graduation, Amy.
Vanessa Helsham
Hawai'i's lifeguards, EMTs are a blessing
May I add my comments to Jon Hoag's May 15 letter regarding his heartfelt appreciation for his own rescue. He was surfing and seriously injured, and is convinced he would have died without assistance by first responders. They include the surfers who grabbed him, Hale Koa lifeguards and other emergency personnel.
On May 3, a Hale Koa lifeguard (I did not get his name) paddled out to help our kids' canoe team with their capsized canoe near shore. I was impressed by his quick response and concern. Even the young paddlers said "Wow! We even get a lifeguard out here!"
Please relay our utmost respect to all our Hawai'i lifeguards, and the surfers at the rescue sites, and all medical staff, as well. Our loved ones may one day (but hopefully not) require their assistance, too.
Kuumomi Ho
Waikiki
New attack on 'ice houses' is shameful, won't work
"Law targets 'ice houses' " screamed the May 20 Advertiser front-page headline. But on closer inspection, we find that the law does no such thing.
"Law targets landlords" is what it should have said. And you might as well have added, "Government admits it is giving up on war on drugs."
Are we to believe that if the police can't enforce the law themselves, then property owners will be able to do it for them? What sense does that make? The police already have the enormous power of the state behind them. They have hundreds of officers, arsenals of weapons, body armor, sophisticated communications equipment, battering rams, search warrants, helicopters, pepper spray, handcuffs, undercover agents, SWAT teams, scores of informants, drug-sniffing dogs, and years of training in locating and arresting criminal suspects.
Are we supposed to believe that if the police, with all these resources, can't do their job, someone's 70-year-old retired auntie from Makiki can?
And it's not the drug manufacturers, dealers or users the law goes after. It specifically threatens property owners with confiscation of their assets if they can't do the job the state is in effect already saying it can't do.
Are landlords supposed to start conducting invasive searches of their tenants' homes? Are they going to start spying on renters? Will they start refusing to sign leases with certain families because they fit some ethnic or racial category that has been stereotyped in the media as likely to be drug users?
Linda Lingle and the Legislature want us all to believe the government is "doing something" to combat ice. But what they've really done is irresponsibly shift the burden of law enforcement to a certain segment of the community that is neither trained nor equipped to do it. The $100,000 appropriated for the project would be better spent on counseling and diversion programs.
Now, it just makes it easier for the government to seize private property from people who are less able to find drug labs than the police themselves. Feel-good headlines and poorly-thought-out laws don't translate into workable public policy, let alone justice.
The governor and state lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves, and the citizens of Hawai'i should tell them so.
Rob Vaughan
