Letters to the Editor

Hawai'i should have unattended-keiki law

Your story about the 10-month-old girl who died after being left in a locked car was a tragic reminder that leaving keiki unattended in cars, for any length of time, is very dangerous. My heart goes out to the parents and family of that little girl.

Nine states already have laws prohibiting unattended children from being left in cars, and eight states have proposed legislation. For the last two years, I have introduced a bill in the House making it a petty misdemeanor to leave a child unattended in a motor vehicle. My bill, part of the Keiki Caucus' legislative package, would prohibit leaving a keiki under the age of 9 in a car unattended. "Unattended" would mean without anyone 15 years or older.

My bill probably would not have made any difference in this latest tragedy, but its passage would be an important reminder to every parent of the dangers of leaving kids in cars unattended. If it saves one precious life, I would be more than satisfied.

Hawaiian heritage instilled in students

As a senior at Kamehameha Schools' Kapalama campus, I have experienced many opportunities to learn about my Hawaiian ancestry. I entered this school as a freshman from Maui. I can truthfully say that when I came to this school, I knew very little of my Hawaiian history.

I am very fortunate that I was accepted into this school. Kamehameha has offered me an education that no other school could provide. I have learned a lot about my culture and I am so fortunate I'm here. Attending Kamehameha was always a dream of my parents and grandparents, so I feel I am living their dreams at this school. I am scared that if there is no more Kamehameha Schools, how will my children ever get to learn about their Hawaiian heritage or walk the steps of the school that their parents attended?

The students of Kamehameha Schools are good and industrious men and women, just as Pauahi would want us to be. The Hawaiian culture will continue to live on in all of our lives even if the most precious thing in all Hawaiian lives gets taken away.

There's a better way for coastal development

The recent criticism by the Sierra Club of Gov. Lingle for her stance on promoting resort development is well-founded. It is disappointing that the governor feels that large-scale resort development is important enough to Hawai'i's economy to encourage developers to declare political war against legislators who might oppose them.

Resort developments, which eat up Hawai'i's coastline, transforming it forever, are short-term answers to the long-term problems of resource conservation and management, unemployment and the disenfranchisement of the Hawaiian people.

Developing countries such as Mexico and some Caribbean island nations are discovering that coastal resort development does not solve endemic economic and social problems among native populations, and offers most local people only short-term, low-wage, service-type employment.

An alternative is offered by Habitat for Humanity, which, in Caribbean and Mexican coastal areas, provides zero-interest loans, allowing local communities to build their own low-profile, environmentally friendly resort accommodations for tourists who appreciate having closer cultural and social contact with their hosts. The community wins by preserving its traditional lifestyle and environment, and through ownership and management of its own tourist facilities.

An approach based on the Habitat model would offer Native Hawaiian development organizations and local communities a way to develop an ecologically and economically sound alternative to big resorts on Hawai'i's coasts.

Middle school students should take drug class

There ought to be an effective drug-awareness program that students must take during middle school. Possibly have a police officer teach the course for half a semester.

Our children need to be prepared in how to handle situations when they are approached and pressured into doing drugs. Also, teach our children the consequences of what the drugs may do to them and what may happen when they are caught doing drugs.

Starting our children young may stop the rise of drug use in Hawai'i. If Hawai'i schools can offer a sex-education course, there should also be a better drug-awareness course.

Leeward Coast isn't panacea for homeless

An underadvertised meeting was held recently in Wai'anae by a group that calls itself CAR (Community Area Responsibility). The main thrust of this group was to blame the community for the homeless problem and welcome homeless to Wai'anae, where they would be housed in a tent city.

The proposed 19-acre site is at the small-boat harbor (watch your car while out on the ocean), across from Wai'anae Intermediate school, next to Wai'anae High School and adjacent to the Ho-nolulu Community Action Program.

Naturally, a full range of services would be available, according to the fellow doing the presentation, including bus service, telephone, medical, job training, counseling and just about anything else imaginable. If job training is a priority, how can anyone expect to find work here in Wai'anae? There is no work here, period.

If the Leeward communities (Nanakuli, Ma'ili'ili, Wai'anae, Makaha) accept this proposal, they will be inundated with an unbearable burden and unimaginable repercussions. The homeless must be dispersed throughout the entire island equally. The Leeward Coast did not create the homeless problem, nor does it have some secret solution.

Don't force teens to act on sexuality

I was gravely disappointed in your Oct. 9 article on the "gay prom" that happened recently.

It seems our schools and society are encouraging teens to "come out" at an earlier age. You quoted from a 2001 Gay and Lesbian Straight Education Network survey, which states that the average age for gays to come out is now 14 to 16 years old.

This is shocking news. The teenage years are tough for everybody. We all go through hormonal changes, and many young people of course question their sexuality. However, it doesn't do teens any good to declare their homosexuality at an early age.

Ultimately, all this decision will do is to encourage teens to act on their perceived sexuality and will put them at a greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases, drug and alcohol use, depression and suicide.

The "gay prom" fiasco is simply another attempt by gay activists to recruit. The fairest solution is this: "Hands off our keiki. Keep your pro-gay propaganda out of our schools, and let the kids decide for themselves whether they're gay or straight ... when they are adults."

Don't forget the past, but concentrate on the future

As I have been keeping track of some letters to the editor that started with Kealiimahiai Burgess, I found it necessary to continue what I consider a very paramount dialogue. I believe that Greg Smith's response to Burgess' letter had validity and has been taken completely out of context by Clifford H.K. Wassman.

I do not believe Smith was trying to directly compare the centuries of African American enslavement by the United States to King Kamehameha's imperialistic unification of the Hawaiian Islands. I believe what Smith was trying to point out is that even King Kamehameha's hands are not clean of bloodshed. Anyone who rebuts the claim that Kamehameha's reign was ruled in the light of imperialism does not truly understand the idea of imperialism in the first place.

Imperialism is defined as " ... the policy, practice or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining direct control over the political or economic life of other areas" (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary).

I believe that this definition summarizes perfectly what King Kamehameha achieved during his reign, with the use of Westernized weaponry. I think it is important for all of us who live in the world today to realize that all cultures have played the roles of aggressors, as well as the victims of aggression. We need to stop allowing ourselves to be veiled in the moments of history and open our eyes to the future.

The United States does indeed have its dark moments in history. There are still many obstacles that we must overcome in order for all people to be treated fairly. Pointing fingers at each other is not going to help us overcome any of the hurdles we need to get over.

Do I think we need to forget about the past? No. But I do believe the future, especially in an amazing place like Hawai'i, is really what needs to be concentrated on. Every inhabitant on this planet has roots tied to bloodshed somewhere. The key lies in not only understanding our cultural roots, but in planting new seeds that foster the true peace and equality of what the 21st century needs to encompass.

I honestly believe that Hawai'i would be the easiest place for this to happen.

There's good reason for Lingle to take over DOE

Regarding Walter Heen's contention (Letters, Oct. 18) that the governor would like to take control of the Department of Education: In this particular case, there is ample reason for desiring to do so.

A recent report by Marion Higa indicates that the DOE ignores the existence of legislated budgeting procedures for Hawai'i's governmental departments and does things its own way.

Anyone who's half tried to keep up with the Felix consent decree process can't help but come away with the conviction that those officials who signed the agreement for the DOE must have done so with crossed fingers behind their backs.

Games are being played with charter school funding, simply because the DOE can't stand having this visible symbol of public discontent with its performance, and it has apparently prevailed on the Legislature to protect its monopoly by having legal limits on the number of permitted charter schools enacted. When it comes to spending taxpayer money, the DOE is altogether too independent.

On the other hand, the DOE has not exercised such independence when it comes to curriculum development. Children younger than the national average are supposed to be taught in kindergarten what I learned in first grade because there's a national fad for such early introduction of academics. There is plenty of research in child development that indicates trying to cram academics into brains not ready for them will lead to problems in the future, and all of it's being ignored.

Therefore, you get teachers doing bizarre things like teaching a finger-counting method of addition and subtraction because the children are being expected to add and subtract at speeds accessible only to those whose brains are mature enough to memorize math tables a year or two before the average child has reached that stage.

In short, the present organizational structure for the DOE, while no doubt implemented with good intentions, has resulted in a unit that may well be free of political influence but has become a law unto itself. This has grave consequences for the children of Hawai'i and for Hawai'i's future to compete successfully with other states for jobs, because in nearly all of them, the politically influenced school systems manage to graduate better-educated students.