Return Hawaii To The Hawaiians

Hawaii was stolen from its citizens by and armed group of Americans that steamed over there and would have taken the place by force had the queen of the Islands, Queen Liliuokalani, not had the foresight to just hand the place over so her people wouldn't get slaughtered which is exactly what would have happened had they resisted. It's what happened to everybody else and perhaps she had hear the news in that day and age. 

That was in 1893.

Now the United States should give it back. Every bit of it. It was a sovereign nation, a Kingdom really and today we have no business running the place.

It is no secret how the place was taken over yet nothing has been done to straighten out the situation. Meanwhile the Hawaiian people are living in an Occupied Territory. Does THAT sound familiar?

There is apparently a deal in the works where the U.S. government is going to buy favor and “settle” the situation. Yes, there is money involved. Lots of money involved.

Will what is left of the Hawaiian culture accept the buyout? Will they submit to become legal wards of the U.S. state? Where will they as a people go from here?  What makes them think the money is even worth anything? Is it worth giving up a Nation?

The U.S. has no legal right to the Hawaiian territory.  What they took, they took by force. Yes, the rest of the country was taken in the same fashion and there is more to be done to straighten that out also. But in the case of Hawaii, the people and the culture are intact, they didn't fight a war and get annihilated they are just suppressed and supplanted by the occupying power that didn't barter or negotiate, they came packing heat and would've done to the Hawaiians what their predecessors did to the rest of the indigenous population of the continental United States with either the pestilence or lead poisoning.

With the protracted wars with the American Indians one may make the case that taking the land was spoils of war but what have the Hawaiians ever done to us? They were just sitting out there in the Pacific Ocean, 2,467 miles from the California coast just minding their own business, the guys chasing grass skirted chics, fishing and paddling their big old canoes all over the place when these strangers show up and tell them they’re taking over and they better do what they say. Hardly the stuff of epic conquest. I think it got 2 or 3 lines in my U.S. History book under one small picture.  It went something like this: “These guys take a steam ship over to the Hawaiian  Islands, met the Queen and Hawaii became our 50^th state.”  And we grouse about how other countries gloss over their history. Just who do we think we’re kidding?

A deal with the U.S. over sovereignty for Hawaii is a deal with the Devil. Over the last century or so since the takeover I’m sure there are plenty of Hawaiians who would be afraid they've loose the “security” of being a U.S. state just like Scotland just did when they voted to stay a part of England instead of the “scary” proposition of having their country back.  This is to be expected since the money tentacles are everywhere on the island buying influence and making dependents on U.S. government resources. 

Freedom is a chance. It is a risk. But the rewards are obvious. Run your country the way your people want to run it, it’s yours with all the head aches and advantages that come with it. Sign a trade deal with anyone you want. It will gain you respect, respect you don’t have now.

It’s not like much will change. I'm sure they could hold onto the dollar as currency if they wanted to and Hawaii will remain a tourist attraction and it probably be a better one with happier people and without the violent animosity that you hear about. It will, of course, remain a U.S. naval base except we’ll have to pay some kind of nominal rent. 

What the big difference would be is that we as a nation can make right a big wrong that is surprisingly available to us today. THEN we can gloat about it big time!   

But it should be done. We have done the Hawaiians no favors by holding onto their island.

Time to give it back.