We see over and over in scripture, when the voice of the people choose wickedness, the people suffer.

In Hawaii right now we have an interesting situation:

An overwhelming majority here want to preserve the traditional definition of marriage:
one man + one woman.

Yet  members of the state senate and house of “representatives” – are acting in direct opposition to the will of the people.

Do words not mean what the majority believes them to mean?  Is our society not defined and supported by this framework of words?  How could we function if each minority was able to change age-old words to support their specific needs/wants?

For the Hawaiian people especially, words are important.  They represent far more than the traditional English word means.  Even the Hawaiian words adopted and loved by the rest of the world have a depth and breadth rarely understood.

For example, Aloha.

It’s why Hawaii is the tourist capital of the world.  Sure, we have stunning scenery, but so do lots of other places.  What draws people here, to come back over and over?

It’s Aloha in the hearts of the people.

What is Aloha?

“Hello,” “Goodbye,” and “I love you.”

…. and…. It also means

planting seeds of
Forgiveness
Patience
Humility
Respect
Honesty
Responsibility
Commitment
Discipline

giving birth to
Unity
Order
Acceptance
Admiration
Trust
Maturity
Perseverance
Character

creating
Joy
Peace
Security
Friendship
Confidnece
Sepf-Control
Strength
Success

One word, friends!  One word means all that.  And more.

Aloha is the culture here.

No, they aren’t perfect.  But Aloha is their foundation.  Each generation is being more and more poisoned by our toxic Western society, but this is the background.  Aloha isn’t something you do, it’s something you feel – something you are.  Wide-eyed, I asked a Kapuna (Hawaiian for teacher, so it probably has another 30 words that it also means) how I could learn more about this culture, how I could learn more about these words and what they are, and Kapuna kind of shook his head like “She still doesn’t get it,” and laughed, “You just be with us.  You don’t learn it, man, you just gotta be it.”

Their words are sacred to them.  When people misuse a Hawaiian word it is NOT funny.  It’s like someone just stomped on their foot.  Nobody loves it when that happens, right?  Even when it’s not intentional, it’s more like, “Ow, that hurt. Say you’re sorry.”  It’s a show of ignorance and a lack of really understanding who they are when you misuse a Hawaiian word.  Perhaps even a lack of respect.

And so the Hawaiian people are pretty much in uproar over the government thinking they can single-handedly change a word.

What!?

NO!  You don’t change a word.  It IS something, almost like it has a life of its own, it is here because our ancestors preserved it and passed it on to us.  You can’t change a word any more than you can change the color of the sky.  It doesn’t change.

I have no idea how someone representing these people could spit in their faces by pushing this same-sex marriage bill on them.  It’s unthinkable.  Our state does not need to be like other states.  Things here are simply not like they are elsewhere, but raising this issue here has brought out the worst in many.

Let me illustrate with an example.  It does not reflect well for the rainbow-leis, so forgive me, friends, I know most of you aren’t like that.

A father and son were standing on the curb in front of the capitol, holding signs in support of traditional marriage.  Someone with a rainbow lei pushed in and stood between them.  The son looked up at the stranger like, “Um, ‘scuse me?” and moved around to be next to his dad again.  This was downtown Honolulu.  On the side of a busy road.  And a stranger pushed him away from his loving parent.  Of course he moved.

The rainbow-lei-wearer accusingly asked, “What? Are you homophobic?”

THAT is not Aloha.  The son would have moved back to be close to his dad no matter what color lei that man was wearing.  There are many Hawaiians here who don’t even know what the word “homophobic” means.

True story.

They aren’t like that.  They don’t care what choices you make in your personal life as long as you don’t disturb the Aloha.

So pray for our state, friends.  A vicious mongoose has been let loose, upsetting the natural balance of peace that existed here.  If the minority group feels oppressed, all they have to do is go to their representatives and their Hawaiian friends and say, “Hey, I have a problem.  Can you help me fix it?” — and Aloha reaches out in respect and friendship, doing things in order and maturity, to resolve the situation.

This crazy, shove-our-legislation-down-your-throats-in-a-week is NOT representative of what the voice of the people calls for.  Even some members of the LGBT community gave testimony voicing suspicion and dislike of this bill.  There were not enough rainbow lei wearers to fill their half  of the seating reserved for them in the room where the final house-of “representatives” vote was taken.  The procedures normally followed in congress were thrown out the window.  Every time there was something called on the carpet, the speaker would pound his gavel “Recess!” so the camera stopped rolling and the public was not permitted to hear how the question was resolved.  If it was.

Suspicious?

Yeah.

If you want proof of corruption in politics, look no further.  We can all talk story now for days and days about wickedness in our government.

The rainbow lei wearers are some of the dearest, best people I’ve ever met.  They are NOT the problem and I want to make that perfectly clear.  I will stand in their defense.  They have Aloha on their side every bit as much as we did on ours.  They just had this one small issue with Federal benefits being unequal.  That’s it!  Honestly!  Not one of them I talked with was like,
“Mwahahaha, we’re going to take over the world with our evil ways!  We’re going to control their churches, teach it to their children, sue anyone who disagrees with us, and destroy peace and happiness for everyone!”

Instead they were like, “Hey, I don’t care about that word marriage – it’s just the only way we can get Federal benefits.”
I’d ask, all curiosity, “So if you could get Federal benefits in another way, you wouldn’t care about the word?”
They’d answer, being totally genuine, “Heck no.  That doesn’t matter to me.”

Told you the Federal gov’t is way too involved in our lives.  No Federal benefits, no problem.  ARGH!

And when it looked like the house was going to pass a bill with tighter legal protections and fewer glaringly obvious loopholes, they were like,
“Hey!  Aren’t you excited? You got what you wanted!  More religious protections, right?”

And I was like, “AHHHH!  No, that’s not the point at all.”

They are being fed lies about us, we are being fed lies about them, it is all so contentious I can hardly stand it.  When there’s contention, we don’t listen to each other.  We judge each other.  We can’t see any way out of the situation.  The Spirit doesn’t guide us and we box ourselves in — both sides.  Everyone.

It breaks my heart over and over when I think about it.

Lord, please help us!

I have given everything I can give, including my reputation.  (Ask me about that one — it’s a painful story in a tight-knit community.)  Many neighbors here have given even more.  It seems wrong -so wrong- for the voice of the people to be ignored in this matter, and
– especially because of the loving and kind way this minority has generally been cared for and accepted by most of the communities here,
– especially because by doing this -by allowing same-sex marriage- they are going to cause a great deal of
confusion
anger
suspicion
disorder
bitterness
insecurity
fear
and even hatred
for my precious brothers and sisters, wearing rainbow leis or not.

And where will the Aloha be then?

Tagged as: Aloha, marriage, political