PRESIDENT Clinton is being barbecued, Philip Morris got burned by a $50-million jury award and Hawaii's chief elections officer is sizzling in the hot seat. Other than the topic of same-sex marriage, however, nothing ignites the people of this state more than talk about a fireworks ban. Compromise is key
to fireworks fracasLike other life-long residents, I have fond memories of noisy New Year's Eves. It just wouldn't be Hawaii to start the calendar without the ritual popping of firecrackers and waving of sparklers. All that exercise and excitement makes the mochi soup taste especially good.
Fortunately, it doesn't have to be an either-or ultimatum.
There's no need to completely outlaw holiday fireworks, but it is ludicrous to assume that the ensuing air and noise pollution are tolerable.
Compromise is the answer, folks, but try telling that to rabid devotees of aerials, firecrackers and other smoke-spewing toys. One was so zealous, he voted 255 times in our starbulletin.com poll in an unsuccessful attempt to skew the results.
That kind of enthusiasm can warp one's judgment. It can lead fireworks fans to believe mistakenly that -- because they like to do something personally -- anybody who disagrees can go straight to hell.
Well, speak of the devil! This island does look like hell on the cusp of Jan. 1, when money-minded merchants discount fireworks and flood the market, transforming their products from cheap thrills into public threats.
It is so smoky during peak-popping hours that it's not safe to drive. Wherever we are at midnight, we are involuntarily imprisoned until the tradewinds come. What's more, a roof fire caused by errant aerials can destroy a homeowner's biggest asset.
On the other hand, it would be overkill to completely ban fireworks, particularly firecrackers and sparklers. Asians, especially, believe that firecrackers bring good luck and that sparklers are relatively harmless fun for the young and young-at-heart.
But some limits must be set. For example, a sizable tax on firecrackers would temper terroristic excesses. Reinstituting a permitting process could also help, since most citizens obey the law.
If the state Legislature is too cowardly to tackle this, it should waive jurisdiction to the counties. That's where this decision rightly belongs anyway. Fireworks usage on the neighbor islands is nothing compared to what happens in Honolulu.
WOULDN'T it be nice if we could extend this same spirit of give-and-take to the just-as-ignitable issue of same-gender marriage?
The voters have spoken and overwhelmingly decreed that marital vows should be spoken only between one man and one woman. OK, but can't those who would deny homosexual couples the right to marry bend a bit?
Governor Cayetano thinks so, and is proposing to expand the rights of gays and lesbians, although not to include marriage. This seems reasonable, except to the hard-liners who continue to see homosexuals as deviants instead of the hard-working taxpayers most of them are. There's that misguided enthusiasm again.
People feel as strongly about fireworks ("Yes!" or "No!") as they do about the yes or no vote on same-sex marriage. It is only fair, in both cases, that compromise prevails.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.