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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 24, 2003

ISLAND VOICES
Look at the real record of Hawai'i

Evelyn Cook is an award-winning journalist who has published a number of books, including the bestselling "With Sam Choy, Cooking from the Heart," which she co-authored with chef Sam Choy.
By Evelyn Cook

Too many of us know far too little about our Islands' most significant historical events.

For years, I was historically challenged. When I moved to Kaua'i from Texas two decades ago, I believed the New England Protestant missionaries were villains who stole the Hawaiians' land, destroyed their culture and forced an unwanted religion down their throats. I thought the 1893 overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani was a terrible crime perpetrated by greedy haoles.

But after spending a year doing research in the state's archives and libraries for my new book, "100 Years of Healing — The Legacy of a Kauai Missionary Doctor," my thinking took an abrupt U-turn.

Some people, especially Hawaiian activists, don't like my book because it doesn't conform to their view of history. Their personal view is often wrong because it's based not on the entire historical record but only on the fragments that support their particular political slant.

My research led me to conclude that President Clinton made a serious blunder when he apologized for the 1893 overthrow. A great deal of material in the state archives supports the premise that the leaders of the overthrow were motivated more by a desire to end governmental corruption and misrule than by a lust for land, wealth or power. We should be thankful, not apologetic. Imagine what Hawai'i would be like today if we still had a king or queen who exercised dictatorial powers, unconstrained by the rule of law.

Originally, I had no intention of writing about the overthrow, but as I delved into the archives, I became intrigued by W.O. Smith, one of the three main leaders of the 1893 coup. Everything written about Smith portrayed him as an honest, fair-minded, judicious man of conscience who was a true friend of the Hawaiian people and a patriot. Not a greedy ripoff artist scheming to steal Hawaiian lands.

We all need to learn more about Hawai'i's past to make better decisions about our collective future. If we take the time and trouble to know the truth, it just might set us free.