“’Ohana does not get rid of ‘ohana!”
That’s the slogan I would choose for the 44th Annual Rally and March for Life held on Jan. 20. My experience growing up in Hawaii is that we take care of our ‘ohana, whether a member of our family is having a baby out of wedlock or going through an end-of-life phase. “We take care of family” is the value and standard we lived by.
Throughout the rally as pro-lifers cheered, waved signs and marched, numerous drivers passing them honked enthusiastically in response. I was heartened.
Those drivers confirmed my hope that most of us in Hawaii still value the precious life of family — whether that life is ensconced in the womb or nearing its end. May the people of Hawaii never give up their ‘ohana value — the right to life.
Dee Davalos
Pearl City
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We have right to die on our own terms
In response to the commentary from three doctors who oppose the right to terminate one’s own life with the assistance of a physician: What do they have to say about the cruelty of a law that requires someone to suffer a slow and agonizing death as my mother did (“Assisted suicide does not fit Hawaii,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Jan. 22)?
My mother made it clear 40 years ago, and again after she suffered a massive stroke at 96, paralyzing her from the nose down, that she wanted to die. Was keeping her alive for 10 agonizing days doing, as they say, no harm?
It is time for Hawaii to recognize what other states have. We have a right to our own bodies and to choose when to die.
Harry Ozols
Punchbowl
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Trump has bigger problems than lying
Connie Schultz argues that President Donald Trump is a “chronic and unapologetic liar” and ends by saying “this is not normal” (“For Donald Trump, only one word will suffice: liar,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 26). In fact, Trump is not a liar, but he is abnormal enough to be certifiable as mentally ill.
He is a pathological narcissist: someone who has a grandiose sense of self; is preoccupied with success, power and brilliance; believes he is special and requires excessive, non-stop admiration; has a sense of entitlement; and is unable to identify with the feelings and needs of others.
As we take pity on our country for having elected a madman, we should pity Trump and have genuine sympathy for his illness. George Washington could not tell a lie; Richard Nixon could not tell the truth; Donald Trump cannot tell the difference.
He needs a straitjacket, not free rein and unlimited power.
Jay Henderson
Waikiki
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State has options to raise revenues
Hawaii and its counties should reduce the income tax, property tax and general excise tax rates.
It should also fund college costs for B-average or higher high school graduates, remove the excise tax from food, medicine and essentials, and air condition and improve public schools.
It can do this by raising the tax on alcohol, tobacco and gasoline, start or join a lottery, legalize and tax recreational marijuana, and license poker rooms and/or casinos.
Wayne Levy
Hawaii Kai
