Back to The BLOG
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 04:26PM Well I guess I am back on the BLOG wagon...after almost a whole year hiatus...my Blogging had turned into BLAHgging as I was dreading having to come up with stuff to write about...it became like that dreaded essay that needed to be handed in by the end of the week...and by wednesday I was contemplating quitting 8th grade rather then write it..
BUT just like the 8th grade ( which I didn't quit) I am gonna plug on through...so here is a recap of the last year till now...
My son is now 3- which by the way is the new terrible twos...
I am still waging a war against my post baby pounds..exacerbated by the looming Miss Universe appearance in August...
and I still miss Hawaii every single breathing day.
SO let's onward and upward to my favorite topic right now...HAWAII: mind you this is about to get POLLITICAL in nature so the weak of mind and heart should probably not read any further...
I have come out in support of two very important issues in Hawaii right now...and with the impending elections coming up, things are going to get heated. Here is my heart felt and very public opinion of BOTH.
CIVIL UNIONS:
I am completely for them..I think if two people want to be together..it is THEIR decision and the GOVERNMENT that GOVERNS them has a right to protect their rights EQUALLY with everyone else...if GOD has a problem with their union...he can take it up with THEM HIMSELF at the pearly gates...and in the mean time..they should be able to have their social security benefits and property rights protected and bequeathed to their significant others and children with the same EASE as everyone else.. I am tired of the argument that gets bandied around that same-sex couples can draw up papers to protect their property, health benefits etc...THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO....THAT'S WHAT EQUALITY MEANS.
I was born and raised Mormon, and though I no longer practice, and am FULLY aware on the stance of the LDS church as well as most other churches...this isn't a church issue...Churches do not OWN the right to marry...MANY people who don't even BELIEVEin GOD get married by Justices of the Peace and I don't see churches rallying against THEM.....Equal is Equal and that is just the way I see it.
AKAKA BILL:
Now I know that this is a sore subject...not many things that are dipped in pollitics that have to do with Hawaiians isn't...and this topic it seems is swirling at the piko ( or center) of it all. I believe in the Akaka bill...I have come out as a public supporter of the bill simply because it is the rules by which Hawaiians need to be ma'a ( or familiar with) in order to get ANYTHING done in the Federal System. Hawaii is part of the United States...and as thus we should be recognized as an indigenous people..so we have access to the same Federal support that Native American's and Native Alaskan's do. PERIOD. A nation within a nation...soverignty all of it can't really happen without first being RECOGNIZED being at the proverbial table..
I am a member of the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club...My parents and grandmother were all charter members of Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club, my father was a president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and my mother is STILL actively involved in all areas of the boards..so as you can see I have been immersed in the civic movement in Hawaii since BIRTH....I have watched the Hawaiian movement grow and change over the decades..with all it's different complications..but I believe whole heartedly that the Akaka Bill is the first step to helping Hawaiians find their way into the 21st century. We are now a people spread far and wide...many of us do not even have the choice to live on the aina ( the land) anymore..and this bill will allow us all to be a more powerful hui (group) no matter where we physically are.
okay I am stepping off my Soapbox now.
Reader Comments (7)
I couldn't agree more! Well said! I look forward to reading your future blog posts :)
good job Brook!
Aloha Brook and mahalo nui loa for your blog. You have long been one of my idols as a fellow Pacific islander who conquered her way to the world stage, and you will always be my favorite Miss USA and Miss Universe. I just wanted to send you my aloha and show my support for your blogging and for everything you do to represent the great State of Hawai`i and your people.
Beautiful post. I agree with every word.
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You might want to consider getting involved in the process first before making a public commitment to the AKAKA Bill. You are a public figure and as such have an obligation to explore the options and make comments based on research and reasoned thought. It might surprise you to know that most people in Hawaii, especially Hawaiian's don't support the AKAKA Bill. People believe in equality, but equality should not come at the expense of one's GOD GIVEN IDENTITY. The reason why many, many, an overwhelming many don't support the AKAKA Bill is because it forces us to be American Indians and to have a relationship with the US based on a manufactured people that currently do not exist on the face of the earth. Given the political climate and the scarcity in federal resources, there are key politicians and leaders who support the AKAKA Bill but want to limit participation in the process based on blood quantum. Just like many American Indian tribes, there are key politicians and leaders who like the AKAKA Bill because it allows the leaders of the so-called new Hawaiian Tribe to declare who is Hawaiian and who is not. I am a Hawaiian by birth but I am also an American and believe in the same things that most American's believe in, but I will not and hope you do not want the US and Federal Government to change my ethnicity because it's convenient and economically necessary. Kaulana Na Pua is the song that best articulates this: we would rather eat pokahu than surrender our identity. You can be a key person in rallying Native Hawaiians to participate in the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission process, so Hawaiians can decide their future. I humbly ask that you consider coming back to Hawaii and spend some time with the grass roots uncle and aunties to re-establish your ties with the community. Once you spend some time their, perhaps you can spend some time here, using your celebrity to assist with efforts to get Hawaiians to participate in a state/federal sanctioned process that speaks directly to the issue of re-establishing our nation in whatever form we are able to at this time. Email, call, and get involved! We want and need your help. Your 'aina and your people are calling you back home to kokua.
Mahalo for sharing all your accomplishments with us and the rest of the world. By the way, I am a Hawaiian Language Immersion Teacher, am a public school graduate, and have been a huge fan of yours for years. And yes, I am a member of the group that embraces an "alternative" lifestyle.
Na'u no me ka 'oi'ai'o (with truth and humility),
Kekahuna83