Interpretation of historical 'facts'; U.S. war crimes

John Glen writes a letter in the Maui News about the interpretation of Hawaiian history, and Petro Hoy has a letter saying, "The USA stole the Hawaiians' lands and illegally annexed the once great Hawaiian nation. Today a Hawaiian can ill afford to buy a home in his own sovereign nation! Iraq, like Hawaii, never surrendered its sovereignty. Invading a nation in violation of the law of nations does not take away a nation's legal sovereignty."

The Maui News
Letter to the Editor
Friday, July 09, 2004

Historic 'facts' often just interpretations

As a college history professor I wholeheartedly agree with several recent letters to the editor regarding more Hawaiian cultural history instruction to island visitors. The question is, whose history?

As so often happens with the study of history, many of the so-called "facts" are really more interpretations, stemming from an author's own perspective, agenda, bias, or point of view. Nowhere is this more true than in the study of Hawaiian history.

Were the American missionaries who arrived here in the 1820s and 1830s a positive or negative influence? Was the "Great Mahele" land ownership dispersal of 1848 a correct or incorrect use of the king's power? Did David Kalakaua's reign produce more successes or failures? Should Queen Lili'uokalani have authorized the use of force in order to save her monarchy from overthrow in 1893? The answers to these questions, which would form the basis of the historical instruction to visitors, deserve thoughtful reflection rather than visceral level reactions.

For example, one recent writer, a Hawaiian Studies major at UH, called Kalakaua's Cabinet "American-born." According to Ralph Kuykendall, the dean of Hawaiian historians, of the king's advisers - William Green (finance), Geofrey Brown (foreign affairs), Clarence Ashford (attorney general), and Lorrin Thurston (interior) - only Thurston was an American. The others were British.

On a related topic, is there any way to prevent the luau promoters their insipid and tastelessly annoying desecration of the word "aloha?" Visitors lose the true meaning of the word through this childish repetition during the luau shows.

John Glen
Wailea

United States should be tried in addition to Saddam

We're witnessing the war crimes trial of one of the world's most savage killers. Unfairly he stands alone, villianized by the United States which itself is guilty of some of the worst crimes against humanity.

America cut its killing teeth on the blood of the long-suffering Indian nations, murdering them by the thousands and occupying their lands and shuffling them off onto worthless reservations.

The USA stole the Hawaiians' lands and illegally annexed the once great Hawaiian nation. Today a Hawaiian can ill afford to buy a home in his own sovereign nation!

Iraq, like Hawaii, never surrendered its sovereignty. Invading a nation in violation of the law of nations does not take away a nation's legal sovereignty. Bush's constant propaganda regarding the return of sovereignty to Iraq was the most atrocious propaganda of the century.

America must stand up and be counted together with Saddam Hussein and Arial Sharon, Bush's ally and Palestinian murderer. Sharon, like Bush, is also an indicted war criminal. They must stand trial, then and only then will full justice be served.

Petro Hoy

Kula

Posted: Fri - July 9, 2004 at 01:59 PM

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Interpretation of historical 'facts'; U.S. war crimes

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