WHO'S to blame; who's to blame; who's to blame? Aren't we all getting a leeeee-tle bit tired of hearing and reading that question when it comes to the most recent school shooting on the mainland? What is this American preoccupation with finger-pointing, anyway? Is it so plaintiffs' attorneys will know whose deep pockets to go after? What this state needs
is a good clean-upPlaying the blame game is like riding an exercise bike: It goes nowhere.
A bunch of talking heads on TV news programs get all revved up and say this is what happens when you have too much: A) guns, B) violence on TV and in the movies, C) time on the Internet, D) parental indifference.
What are we going to do, outlaw everything?
Propose doing away with people's right to own guns, and the NRA-types scream constitutional murder.
Parrot the need for family values (whatever that means), but good luck trying to force others to raise their kids a certain way, or to force the kids to conform, for that matter.
We can put metal-detectors in the schools, or kick troublemakers off campus, or arrest and release delinquents to the custody of their parents, but that won't keep determined assassins from gunning down classmates, as the latest incident in Springfield, Ore., proves.
So, suppose we direct our time and energy toward something we CAN do something about, that everybody agrees is worthy of support and which is relatively easy to accomplish -- even in a sluggish economy like Hawaii's?
It's three C's we don't hear about often enough: Conserve, Clean and Care about the land.
A "Save Sandy Beach" sign-waver I am not, but it was inspiring and enlightening to be at Washington Place on Wednesday morning for the annual Governor's Committee for a Beautiful Hawaii Breakfast.
The idea came to me as they awarded Hoonani Hawaii Kakou Awards to 16 local businesses for their contributions toward keeping the islands pristine, environmentally friendly and recycling-happy.
As we try to cope with so many things that are beyond our immediate control -- mass murder and a crummy economy, for example -- keeping this state clean is something that is doable. Every man, woman and child can help.
Actually, we've done pretty well already. Most of us are so sensitive to the sin of littering that we wince when some human pig dumps stuff out of a car window or leaves opala strewn on the beach.
The best part is, when we see refuse lying around, we don't need to resort to figuring out who's to blame and finger-pointing. We can dispose of it ourselves! Man, talk about immediate gratification.
IN the past, I used to puzzle at the groups of volunteers cleaning alongside the roads on the weekends. I thought folks who picked up trash on their walks around the neighborhood were strange do-gooders.
Now I realize that they are the smart ones. They may not be able to stop a young punk from making bombs, shooting at his classmates or killing his parents, but they certainly can help make Hawaii live up to its reputation as a paradise. It only takes a little effort.
They've stopped playing the blame game. When it comes to the ravages of rubbish, they are -- litter-ally -- solving the problem themselves. Beeee-yoo-tiful.
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.