Thursday, October 31, 2013

Seeing History Unfold

A L O H A!
 Is more than a word, 
it is a concept, a philosophy of life, 
a rule of behaviour, 
a deep and sacred truth 
that is at once simple, obvious 
and powerful 
in any context. 


The Hawaiian People, 
it is said, recognized 
the spirit of Jesus 
immediately, but wondered 
at the cold behavior 
of the missionaries 





It was not a perfect society,
holding slaves, fighting wars,
ruled over by a class
of "superiors."
In other words,
it was like other
cultures around the globe
in that time.



What I am praising
is the inclusion and
courtesy that was
their heartbeat.

Vestiges of ALOHA 
remain.

They have blessed,
educated,
and changed
me;
For the better.








This week
our legislature
seems poised
to extend marriage equality
to all.

Hearings in special session
have run the gamut
from: "Gays are trying
to take over the world,
shame on you for taking
bribes to help them."

To wonderful testimony
from local families,
faith leaders,
seniors,
children,
as to why
equality and inclusion
are Pono
(the Hawaiian word
for "Right, righteous.")




For once, the dignity
of our local senators
(the majority of them!)
has risen to a
statesmanlike stature.
Senator Hee asked a 
very nice older woman
how she reconciled
the disagreement
between different churches
as to the bill.
She could not answer.

Nor could the person
who testified that 
legislative staff
was infiltrated with gays
when the same senator
asked:
"Which of them do I work with?
*Pause*
Thought you said you knew."





The US Supreme Court ruling,
as well as marriage equality
from South Africa to Iowa
have made a huge change
to local leaders.

Hawaii will vote: aloha to ALL
this week
or next.

My friends, my betters,
my forerunners,
 martyrs,
 and I
are poised to
succeed
in a long long long long long
struggle.

The world will not end.
Promise!



"It's historic in the sense that there's a huge paradigm shift, but it's a shift that, in my opinion, bends the arc of justice towards the right way,
It takes us to a new level of equal rights."

Hawaii State Sen. Clayton Hee 

" Kanaka Maoli*
 have been conditioned for so long
 to think and act like foreigners
 that we have allowed the meaning
 and intent of our words, traditions and philosophies 
to be replaced by neo-Christian beliefs 
and used to further a 
Western political agenda 
on our islands."

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu 
More about Hina:
HERE


=^..^=
' Take Peace & Smiles - Leave Your Comment '
Thanks for visiting!

                          Warmly, cloudia
* Kanaka Maoli is what the original Hawaiian people call themselves in their own Language. 
Back in the 19th century, Hawaiian sailors were often listed on crew manifest as "Kanaka" or "Kanak)

21 comments:

Brian Miller said...

ha. they handled that one with the wisdom of solomon eh? smiles...i like their wit...and i am happy to see

aloha from va

EG CameraGirl said...

Kudos to the people of Hawaii!

Anonymous said...

Prayers said for the bill to pass. LOVE the link for all of the historical info. I'll be reading it while it's raining all day. DrumMajor

Anonymous said...

Aloha to you! Lovely.

Charles Gramlich said...

Good to see the fairness spreading.

Rajesh said...

Superb.

Rajesh said...

Superb.

TexWisGirl said...

aloha, cloudia. :)

eViL pOp TaRt said...

Best wishes to a just cause. Aloha, Cloudia!

Myrna R. said...

Wonderful to see change happening. So happy for Hawaii. The world will not end, instead a new world arises.

The warmest Aloha to you Cloudia.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Aloha Cloudia :)

Cloudia said...

Seems a bit unreal.

Thanks for your humbling support!

Congrats to Hawaii player Shane Victorino for being key to Boston's World Baseball Championship!

Tammie Lee said...

aloha!

Elephant's Child said...

I so hope the bill is passed. And that my country follows suit. My city just passed legislation allowing same sex marriage - and the Federal Government immediately mounted a legal challenge. Which they will probably win.
Sad and bad.

Adam said...

I'm honestly surprised it's taken Hawaii this long with the Democratic super-majority

21 Wits said...

On the waves of goodness, I feel it too. Aloha to you and all, enjoy your Halloween evening as well, if you do. I will be my best Mime ever, I hope!

Cloudia said...

Jolly to see you today!!!

TALON said...

That's wonderful news! It seems, at this point in history, that marriage equality would be a non-issue. As always, your photos are fantastic, Cloudia!

Betty Manousos said...

awesome!
kudos to the wonderful people of hawaii!

alohaaa!

Kay said...

I was so happy to hear that the bill was passed. I have some friends whose children are gay and I really wanted this for them and everyone else. I also have a number of very religious friends who were against it. I hope they can reach some kind of acceptance, kindness and understanding.

Kay said...

Oops! I thought they'd already passed it.