Consent of the governed

I just got off a one hour interview with Uncle Charlie Maxwell on his "Talk Story" show on KNUI 900 AM radio. We talked about Hawaiian independence in the context of the 4th of July weekend, and I expressed my feeling that as an United States citizen raised to believe strongly in the principals of America, it is patriotic to support Hawaii's independence.

The Declaration of Independence, a beautiful document which we celebrate this weekend, says: "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." But consent was never given for the United States to govern Hawaii.

In 1893, there was an unlawful intervention of U.S. troops into Hawaii supporting a fake revolution when a small handful of Americans, Europeans and descendants of missionaries conspired with the U.S. diplomatic representative acting without authority of his government. The 1993 apology bill says the Provisional Government "was formed by the conspirators without the consent of the Native Hawaiian people or the lawful Government of Hawaii and in violation of treaties between the two nations and of international law."

Then in 1898, under the exigencies of the Spanish-American war, the U.S. passed a simple domestic joint resolution purporting to annex Hawaii. However, an attempt to ratify a treaty of annexation failed due in good part to the overwhelming opposition of the Hawaiian national population as expressed in the 1897 Ku'e Petition, which clearly demonstrated that the governed did not consent to the annexation. The apology bill says, "The Republic of Hawaii also ceded 1,800,000 acres of crown, government and public lands of the Kingdom of Hawaii, without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people of Hawaii or their sovereign government."

Finally, a lot of people may believe that consent was obtained in 1959 with the so-called statehood plebiscite. But there were several reasons why this was not a valid consent. First, as an occupied country (as opposed to a colonized territory) Hawaii should not have been placed on the UN list of non-self-governing territories in the first place. Second. the question on the ballot was only to become a state or remain a territory, when even if Hawaii had been a non-self-governing territory the option of independence would have to have been offered for the choice, or consent, to be valid. Finally, all residents of Hawaii were allowed to vote, including military personnel and their families. Think today if U.S. soldiers in Iraq were allowed to vote in Iraqi elections, how much legitimacy that would have. Well, that's what happened in Hawaii, and why the statehood vote cannot be claimed as a valid granting of consent for the U.S. government to derive just powers in Hawaii.

President Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration we celebrate this weekend, said "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."

For these reasons, I believe that my responsibility as a patriotic American is to speak out about the truth of Hawaii's history, and support my government in correcting the wrongs that were done in Hawaii, in violation of the very principles upon which America was founded.

Posted: Fri - July 2, 2004 at 12:49 PM

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Consent of the governed

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