Personal (and Quasi-Political) Musings on the Fourth of July in Hawaii

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Personal (and Quasi-Political) Musings on the Fourth of July in Hawaii

This morning I was sitting on the sun deck of our hotel. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the American flag peeking out from behind the building. The only visible portion was the thirteen stripes representing the thirteen original colonies. I took this photo of the red and white stripes waving in the tropical trade winds against the backdrop of the green mountains and blue skies of Oahu.

This scene prompted me to wonder what these islands were like 245 years ago, when our nation was founded. Thanks to Google, I found this powerfully written snapshot:

Let's remember what Hawaii was like on America's birthdate in 1776. Captain Cook had not yet arrived. Hawaiians were living in the stone age. They had not yet invented the wheel, had no written language, and no clay pottery. They had only extremely small amounts of metal that washed up in driftwood from sunken ships. There was constant warfare among competing warlords. There was no concept of human rights -- both slavery and human sacrifice were practiced. The death penalty was imposed on anyone who stepped on the shadow of a high chief, or any woman who ate a banana or coconut.

Captain Cook's arrival in 1778 marked the beginning of the near-total cultural transformation of Hawaii over the next two and a half centuries. While I'm sure there are plenty of ethnic Hawaiians who resent the hostile colonization and decimation of their island kingdom — with good reason — it is difficult to look around me at the rights and freedoms enjoyed by all the people in this mid-Pacific melting pot without concluding that Hawaii ultimately gained more than it lost.

This is especially true if you consider which other nations might have colonized Hawaii and how world history might have turned out had Hawaii been controlled by anyone other than the USA during WWII. (Incidentally, one of the cultural paradoxes in Hawaii is that it is politically one of the most Democratic, left-leaning states, with Biden receiving a 29.5% margin of votes over Trump — slightly higher than even California! — and yet, support for America's armed forces is as strong as it is in the reddest southern states on the mainland.) And if you're interested in alternative timeline scenarios, talk to Jonny, who has recently visited and learned about other island nations whose (non-manifest) destinies have fared far worse than this 21st century paradise.

I may not be ethnically Hawaiian, but Hawaii is a part of my identity. I was born here. So was my mom. So were Popo and Kung Kung (a.k.a. my grandparents). My great-grandfather on Popo's side was born in Maui and served as the county treasurer for several terms. My great-grandfather on Kung Kung's side, born in China in 1862 (!), came to Kauai when there were no white people — only Hawaiians and Chinese. My great-grandmother on Kung Kung's side was brought over from China as an orphan in 1894. What I'm trying to say is that my roots run deep in Hawaiian soil. This connection with Hawaii has been reinforced through many visits throughout my childhood, and especially since 2006, when we've returned here every year (with the exception of 2020).

We are often here for the Fourth of July, which probably makes me one of the last people you likely know to celebrate our Independence Day in the world. For some reason, this is the first year I've looked at the American flag and consciously thought about the fact that the 50th star represents Hawaii. To me, that star is emblematic of the circuitous path my Chinese ancestors took on their Eastward journey that would eventually culminate in my birth in the state of Hawaii, with the other half of my gene pool being supplied by Ashkenazi Jews, thanks to their journey Westward.

This synthesis of East and West is also a part of my identity — one only made possible in this unique manner by the United States and its triumphant and tumultuous history. For example, I think it's safe to say that only the United States could possibly give rise to The Stoic Jew Podcast featuring a fusion of King Solomon, Marcus Aurelius, and Bruce Lee, hosted by a Rabbi Matthew Wai Tung Chang Schneeweiss who splits his time between New York City, Seattle, and Honolulu.

Now it's time to lean in to the political part of this post. I think that people who use the Fourth of July as an opportunity to criticize the USA on social media are