On this Thanksgiving Day, we look like a nation divided. One of the nastiest political campaigns in recent memory threatens to poison our good will: riots in the streets, families and friends feuding, grandma unfriending the grandkids on Facebook.
Yes, it’s been rough. But a little perspective helps.
Thanksgiving Day — a long tradition in this country dating back to before we were a country — became a national holiday by presidential proclamation in 1863, a few months after the Battle of Gettysburg. Our nation was never more divided. Even so, Abraham Lincoln recognized the need for a national day of reflection to look beyond our fears and recognize our many blessings.
And we have much to be grateful for, especially here in Hawaii, even where our own communities seem divided.
Perhaps the most visible signs of this division is reflected in the tents lining our sidewalks and parks. Unlike some places on the mainland, we have a growing number of poor, homeless neighbors living on the streets. Much of that can be attributed to our mild climate, high land costs and critical shortage of affordable housing.
Even so, it could be worse. Thanks to the concerted efforts of dedicated public servants, nonprofit agencies and volunteers, double-digit increases in the homeless population have been reduced to 4 percent, mostly on the neighbor islands.
More shelters have been built, more have been expanded, and more permanent affordable homes have opened. The Housing First program and other initiatives have put hundreds of people in homes, and many more veterans are able to avoid life on the streets.
Certainly we are a long way from solving homelessness, or even reducing it to more manageable levels. But so far, we’re headed in the right direction. And it should be remembered that those shouldering the burden of this difficult problem provide more than meals and shelter to our most weak and vulnerable — they offer dignity and that most precious asset, hope.
They deserve our support, and today especially, our gratitude.
We face cultural divides as well, dramatically illustrated by the unfortunate efforts of protesters, or protectors, to block construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea in the name of Native Hawaiian culture and religion. However, the gulf is not insurmountable. Prominent Hawaiians have expressed support for TMT.
And in a broader sense, the continuing success of the worldwide journey of the voyaging canoe Hokule‘a, making port in places as far flung as South Africa and Cuba, demonstrates our shared humanity and the bonds that unite us.
When members of the Mi’kmaw Nation greeted Hokule‘a in Nova Scotia, master navigator Nainoa Thompson commented: “This makes me believe that we’re more alike than we’re different. When we come here and you tell us to come to your place, and thank us for being here, and for being happy — that’s aloha.”
We can be thankful for the safe passage of our ambassadors of aloha and the warm welcome they have received around the world.
Perhaps the most difficult test — at least in the short term — has been put to us by Donald Trump, now president-elect, and Hillary Clinton. The outpouring of emotion over Trump’s surprising victory — anger, glee, horror, contempt —
often has been stunningly vicious on both sides of the political aisle. Hawaii was not spared. The ugliness of the campaign should shock us out of our complacency and out of our false cocoons of targeted social media and echo chambers. It’s time to start listening to one another, to find shared goals and a common purpose.
We can start with a common theme of this day — gratitude for all we have — and pass it forward. The holidays are the customary time to donate to charity or volunteer to help those in need. If everyone did just a little more than they did last year, our communities would be much improved.
Happy Thanksgiving!
