#thinkaboutit

A few unrelated items to ponder this week as we navigate new beginnings…

Kaiser High was acknowledged in April as the #1 public school in Hawaii and was also tied for #1 in the entire United States among public high schools in math and reading proficiency, according to U.S. News and World Report. “It’s Academic Hawai`i”, a weekly, academic game show featuring some of the brightest students from local high schools, ran from 2012-2018 on KFVE. The show had only one three-time champion in seven seasons- Kaiser High School. Kaiser’s principal commented on the local/national math ranking by saying “we challenge ourselves”, according to Pacific Business News. As it should be! Go Cougars! It’s always great to see our public schools earning deserved academic kudos both locally and nationally…

Moving on, comedian Dennis Miller once said that the toughest job in the world was being a bank security guard in Alaska: 20 people walk into a bank… they’re all wearing masks (insert laughter here). Well, reality nowadays is- 20 people walk into a bank, socially distanced of course, and they’re all wearing masks. Suddenly, a guy walks in without a mask. Everyone gets really scared… As Bob Dylan sang 20 years ago: “People are crazy and times are strange / I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range / I used to care, but things have changed.” 

Finally… we simply can’t seem to do it. As a species. We’ve paid the price, darn it, and now we have a right to go out unencumbered as we frolic and play. Without masks, without physical distancing, without practicing safe sanitization. Well… someone forgot to tell Beelzebub, a/k/a/ COVID-19. Because it’s still here and it also wants to play, and (for now) it’s here to stay, thanks to human transmission and letting our guard down. COVID-19 appears to be mutating, morphing- and who knows what that portends. We’ve already seen death and long-term damage via more than eight million (confirmed) cases worldwide in just seven months. We need treatments, we need a vaccine, and yes, we want our freedom. But for today’s purpose, what we really need is to have a clue, sports fans. As stoics love to remind us, freedom is not free; well, neither is winning this biological war. So put on your equipment, give space, and keep fighting the good fight, brothers and sisters. No slackers allowed.

Think about it…

Why are some people consciously choosing to not wear masks or practice social distancing? Yes, everyone’s been inconvenienced as “the man” made us stay home, but this medical safeguard has nothing to do with the shattering COVID-19 economic toll. If this is a so-called “war” we’re fighting vs. the coronavirus, and if you’re not doing you’re small part for our state and country in that war, does that make you a traitor or a snowflake? The novel coronavirus is not going away soon and is surely not a problem solved, yet. 

Moving on… recent peaceful protests around the country have pointed out just how far we haven’t come as a nation where all people are supposedly created and treated equal. The cry for justice and change is as loud as it’s been in many years, which hopefully will be a cause for immediate action beyond the poignant words.

We’ve been here before, and not just on this one particular issue of racial inequality and mistreatment. Back to 1970, we saw apparent headway being made by Women’s Lib, Black Power, and Gay Liberation movements. Yes, a half century ago, some of the very problems we see today were being addressed. But as Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and LGBTQ movements show us in 2020, we certainly have a long way to go.  

Minneapolis just banned neck restraints and chokeholds as methods of police restraint, but that’s merely a rules change. What needs to change universally is mindsets. As daddy once told me, learn right from wrong when you’re young, because it’s hard(er) to change when you get older. Civics and ethics courses should be mandated in schools, if we truly believe in the words of our nation’s founders (who themselves were quite naïve and hypocritical in some humanitarian areas).

Judge people by their actions and souls, not by their skin color, shape, social proclivities, religious choices, physical challenges, mental conditions, accents, or even where they went to school. Civics should be taught alongside the ABCs, and taught early and often. Alter or adjust evolving mindsets before wayward or antiquated notions seep in and you’ll see change. Sunday schools should also play a big role in this moral mandate. Enough tribalism; enough us and them. While we all may be different, we’re all in this together. It’s 2020, not 1863, not 1607. Time to wake up, everybody.

Think about it…  

Some people have made it clear what they don’t want when quarantine ends- a return of seam-busting tourism and stultifying traffic. O`ahu’s major corridors have fewer commuters because schools are closed and people are unemployed or working from home- non-tourism-related issues. We often know what we don’t want, but too little time, effort, and ingenuity has been placed on addressing what we DO want (and need)- a community that respects our heritage and people, cherishes Hawai`i’s uniqueness, and provides ample jobs, wages, and housing to ensure that future generations can hopefully and happily call Hawai`i home. 

Intriguing and higher paying jobs are easy to talk about, but how do we get there- internet technology, aerospace, astronomy, cyber-security, alternative energy, self-sustaining agriculture, aquaculture, an East-West medical consortium, a gerontology center? Diversifying our economy is a now-standard local plea and political rallying cry, much like improving education for our keiki. 

The “what” and “why” are simple; what’s been missing for the past 25+ years is the “how”, “who”, and “when”. Many here were concerned about our lack of an economic bouillabaisse before COVID-19 came to town. Tourism’s growth has allowed us to ignore issues for far too long. An April International Air Transport Association survey said that 40% of travelers plan to wait six months after the virus is contained before possibly flying again. Yes, “business as normal” will be experiencing a facelift here. 

Turning down the tourism spigot is not a simple or necessarily wise solution. We have no economic plan “B”. Ripple coronavirus effects ensure a slow, economic re-build. We need new partnerships, planning, and action to help Hawai`i morph into what we want it to look like and be in 2030 and beyond. 

Bloomberg Businessweek said: “Almost half of U.S. households 55 and older have nothing saved for retirement.” In mid-2019, ABC News said: “Almost 40% of American adults wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency with cash, savings or a credit-card charge that they could quickly pay off.” That represents over 83-million struggling Americans aged 18+, a staggering statistic pre-coronavirus. With layoffs, cutbacks, closures, uncertainty, and bills piling up, well… things are tough. 

The federal government is handing out almost $3-trillion in business loans, taxpayer relief, and other monetary aid to momentarily stem the tidal wave of angst that is a real COVID- 19 by-product. Hawai’i’ leadership needs to provide hope.

Think about it…

“Think About It: Ideas And Inspiration For Today’s Hawai`i”, my new book, is now available to order online from Watermark Publishing locally (including FREE shipping) at: https://www.bookshawaii.net and is also available at many local bookstores

Remember the childhood song and dance, the “Hokey Pokey”? It goes like this:

“You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.” Etc., etc.

We do our own redundant, profound dance here- kind of a “local government ‘Hokey Pokey’”. Happens all the time. We start, we stop; we’re in, we’re out. Decisions are made, action begins; decisions are rescinded, action stops. The recent one day of work at Waimanalo’s Sherwood Forest (they found bones! who knew? Everyone…) is just the latest confirmation that government here leads the league in start/stop, discuss/revisit, pledge/avoid, empathize/ignore. Is it arrogance or ignorance?

TMT? The “Stairway to Heaven”? The Falls of Clyde ship? The Waikiki Natatorium? An alternate road to leeward O`ahu? Affordable housing? More doctors? More teachers? The list is seemingly endless… items which we’re told have been resolved and are moving forward- only to come to that inevitable moment where leaders “…take your right foot out.” We can’t seem to get planned major projects vetted, cleared by the courts, and then acted upon- or shelved- except for that on-going rail thing. Intransigence by opposition forces is to be expected. Heck, entities question Roe v. Wade (1973) and the 2^nd Amendment (1791) every single year. Our local government just doesn’t finalize many of its big, ongoing issues, or take a permanent stand when apparently justified, if confronted.

Broken promises over time really do set people off. Elected officials failing to act on decisions and edicts should matter to us. When finalizing matters, there is never constituent unanimity or complete happiness at the end… someone’s still upset. If politicos are not prepared for adversarial response, then they shouldn’t promise action or perhaps even be in office. 

That stasis leaves us far too often in limbo. And that’s not a quaint town outside of Wahiawa nor a desired destination, but rather a frustrating place to be. Leadership means being accountable and empathetic, but also decisive, explaining rationally when questioned, and ultimately moving forward.

Think about it…

 “Think About It: Ideas And Inspiration For Today’s Hawai`i”, my new book, is now available to order online from Watermark Publishing locally (including FREE shipping) at: https://www.bookshawaii.net and is also available at many local bookstores

Summertime- with the hopeful minimization of the most drastic COVID-19 safety measures and concerns- brings Hawai`i’s hurricane season (June – November). Remember when that ominous window was our biggest annual life/lifestyle/economic local concern? Near-misses from major Pacific storms have been near-miraculous over the past 20+years, but we must always remain vigilant and prepare well ahead of time (sound familiar?). A few thoughts:

• A byproduct of watching daily coronavirus (national) news coverage is witnessing the numbing parade of drugs available for various ailments. And everyone’s smiling! The pharmacological alphabet soup (these names aren’t from the “Alice in Wonderland” poem, “Jabberwocky”) includes Humira, Ibrance, Xeljanz, Eliquis, Truvada, Ozempic, Xarelto, Dupixent, Farxiga, Otezla, Cosentyx, Chantix, and Trulicity. Possible drug side effect listings take up more ad time than the drug’s positive aspects (legal requirements). Big Pharma concoctions with lots of Xs, Zs, and Qs, plus other strangely aligned letters. Maybe these tongue-twisting names evolved from Superman’s home, Krypton, or from a mid-1960s “Star Trek” episode?

• And you thought people’s usage of/addiction to digital devices was severe before we all went to our respective rooms? An April Atlantic magazine article by commentator Maya MacGuineas proffers: “The average person taps, types, swipes, and clicks on his smartphone 2,617 times a day. Ninety-three percent of people sleep with their devices within arm’s reach. Seventy-five percent use them in the bathroom”. Smartphone program engineers know- via likes, followers, friends, replies, positive reviews, thumbs up and all- how to tap into our brain’s areas for wanting and desiring, bypassing our judgment and reasoning brain areas. Reassuring, yeah? Let’s all play Parcheesi instead- mo’ bettah! Time to kick the digital dependence…

• And finally, when the novel coronavirus’ major threat eases, the last thing we should all do is party. I’m not a killjoy, but physical distancing must remain top-of-mind (and body) even after this isolation mandate dissipates. The last thing we need is a COVID-19 rebound (now playing in Asia). Let’s continue to practice our newly-honed, sanitation habits and norms, as they might even help us stifle the 2020 flu infection rate a bit. Flu season starts in earnest in about six months.

Think about it…

 “Think About It: Ideas And Inspiration For Today’s Hawai`i”, my new book, is now available to order online from Watermark Publishing locally (including FREE shipping) at: https://www.bookshawaii.net and is also available at many local bookstores