LETTER: Learn From Our History & Give TMT a Chance

Regarding the TMT telescope. I believe in my heart that King Kamehameha and even the Queen Liliuokalani would have approved the construction on the Mauna Kea. Not supporting the TMT would be a risk to our keiki and their future. So the question is… is that the risk we are willing to take? Why not give our keiki a choice on the matter? Why not allow them to have an option to choose rather than making one choice for them? Why not allow them to decide which direction they wish to grow? After all, it’s going to be their generation that will be impacted, not ours. And they are the ones that will be left behind, not us.

King Kamehameha was very versatile as a warrior, a voyager, and a diplomat. And a very smart and successful one at that. The King and Queen both had one very special thing in common. The security, love, education, future, and aloha for their people.

They must be frowning down upon us all right now to see us all in such discord with one another, as we journey through this extremely emotional matter. There isn’t just one side feeling the emotional impact of all this upheaval. Many are hurt by this, not just the natives. It’s an emotion that has hit all across our country.

If we are ever going to reach any kind of compromise, let’s learn from the past, and keep moving forward towards the future. I don’t think anyone is asking the natives to forget, but we need to be better people to one another and more supportive if we are going to move forward as a community. It’s not like we can’t share the Mauna. I think we can all work together. It’s already happening. Let’s take the Imiloa and ThinkTech Hawaii for example. Both of which are benefiting our keiki’s future today.

There is no question that Hawaii was definitely illegally overthrown, but we must also remember that they were overthrown by a small group of American businessmen, not America itself. The incompetence of the many in the monarchy also allowed it to happen. My statement is not geared as an insult, but a fact. Because, I believe both the monarchy and a few unsavory American businessmen were all responsible.

The TMT project and the illegal annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii are completely two separate matters, and should not be considered the same. You have brought your concerns to the UN (a non-biased agency) to investigate the illegal overthrow of the monarchy, now let them decide so we don’t divide.

To ask TMT to walk away from the money they have already invested in Hawaii is simply not fair. It would be like asking us to walk away from our money. They did their due process. They went all the way to the Supreme Court and got everything legalized. So by law they are indeed entitled to move forward. TMT has done everything that Hawaii has asked of them. We may not agree with the actions of our U.S. Government, but they are still our government for the time being. And we will need to recognize them as such until we are able to regain access to what’s rightfully ours. I’m afraid we will need to be patient a little longer, and follow such laws until then.

So I believe that to ask TMT to walk away, would be asking us to walk away from a more better, brighter, insightful, and economic future. But this can’t happen if we remain tunnel vision, and don’t allow others to share their opinions freely without threats of retaliation. If we are going to “Kapu Aloha” then that means to “Kapu Aloha” everyone in the community, not just the ones that are in support of the Mauna. It’s not fair to place them on a black list. As they can’t be held responsible for the unsavory actions of their past generations, anymore than we can.

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