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By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist
In the past week, we heard the State of the State, the State of the Schools and the State of the City.
In all three speeches, we learned the state we're in isn't very good.
Illicit drug use is tearing apart the fabric of society.
The public education system is obsolete.
And the city may have to increase property taxes to pay the price of overgrowth on a small island.
While the speeches by Gov. Linda Lingle, superintendent of schools Pat Hamamoto and Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris each contained detailed plans and proposed solutions for the problems they described, none could be characterized as an inspirational address. The bottom line of each talk was that we have problems and there's lots of work to do.
It seems as though it would have to have been more than 35 years ago when Gov. John Burns gave his famous State of the State pep talk. But no, it was Feb. 20, 1969, when Burns, in what came to be known as the "Keep Hawai'i Hawaiian" speech, told us to hold our heads high.
"To be perfectly candid, I sense among some elements of our community — particularly those who are descended from our immigrant plantation workers — a subtle "inferiority of spirit" which is totally unwarranted and which becomes for them a social and psychological handicap in life.
You who have grown up with me here in the Islands and who remember the pre-World War II climate know full well what I mean.
You know, too, that there should be no basis for this feeling."
That is the passage that is so frequently quoted because of its frankness and its truth. Burns pointed out something that everyone knew in their hearts but no one ever said out loud. More than that, he challenged the regular, ordinary people of Hawai'i to change the way they see themselves.
"On the contrary, our people are equal to, if not superior in many ways, to their counterparts anywhere.
They should be proud of their ethnic roots, of the riches and treasures of their Pacific and Asian cultures ...
What our people have done under the conditions of yesteryear — the story of the different waves of immigrants who came to Hawai'i — their travails — the story of the labor movement in Hawai'i — the education of the immigrants' children — their rise into the professions, into government — the development of the cultural heritage we have today — all these stories are vital to the history of our state ...
Our children should know it, as should their children and all future generations of Hawai'i.
In short, we must safeguard their identity so that they will be secure in their future.
We must do this so that every child in Hawai'i will have an opportunity to grow up with supreme confidence in the dignity and value of his own person and his own heritage."
The bulk of Burns' speech to the Legislature is on that theme: The people of Hawai'i know their proud heritage. There is no talk of drugs or traffic problems, no mention of the economy or tourism, no reference to specific legislation except to encourage a policy change in school curriculum to put more emphasis on teaching the history of Hawai'i.
In 35 years, these islands have become so sophisticated and so complicated. On the one hand, we have so many more choices and opportunities. On the other, there are problems no one could have anticipated in 1969.
But still, that subtle inferiority of spirit remains, and sometimes, it's not so subtle.
As we consider, debate, haggle over and, hopefully, take action on all the myriad problems facing our state, it's good to remember that Gov. Burns was right:
"We must never underestimate the tremendous power of Hawai'i as a source of inspiration which leads to righteous revolutionary improvement in this world."
Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.
