Then we watch the conventions and Clinton's saying one thing and Dole's saying something else. It's kind of confusing, I think, so you really need to pay attention.
Another thing is mud-slinging. It's sort of discouraging and not very professional. We were watching the Republican Convention and every speaker that went up made some joke about Clinton. Not that I'm totally pro-Clinton, but it's discouraging to see people that are supposed to be leading us going into things that are not relevant to the issues.
I think they should be addressing problems.
I believe a candidate for office should be honest and open with what's going on. Over and over, we're seeing that's not happening.
We've had both our cars stolen and our neighbors have had their houses broken into nine times since they've moved in. It's not safe to go to the beach by yourself or to go hiking with only two people. It's really discouraging to live in such a beautiful place with so many things to do and have to limit yourself because of crime.
There's so many people into marijuana and ice and it's very scary how easy it is to get those kinds of drugs. It's everywhere.
Also, the cost of living here is too high.
Hawaii needs for those kids that are going away to come back, to get jobs here, to become active in government. It worries me that a lot of the educated kids won't be coming back.
It's so difficult, even (if) you get a college education, to get a job here. They're calling it the brain drain where all the kids go away and they don't have qualified people here to fill positions, everything from teaching to being governor.
I definitely think the Hawaiian people should be able to have self-determination in terms of just being able to get land to survive or make certain laws for themselves like in health care.
There's something that definitely needs to be given back by the United States to the Hawaiian people and I recently learned that certain levels of the government don't even recognize Hawaiians as indigenous peoples. That recognition would bring funding that we need for health care, for housing, for programs and it just blows me away that they can't acknowledge us as indigenous people.
The Hawaiian people need a lot of things and when I come back, I hope that's what I'll be involved in.
I'm very, very excited about voting but I'm not sure I can say that about everyone in my generation because I don't think they feel it'll make a difference.
I'm a little biased. Both my parents are pretty well-off, they both vote. I went to a private school where I was tracked with honors so everybody I know is into what's going on in the community. I was caught along in that flow so I was lucky.
For others who are just worried about putting food on the table, getting a job or passing school, it's a little bit different. I don't think they care about it as much.
The mayoral race seems to be getting dirty; they're kind of slamming each other with nasty stuff. I wish they would just discuss issues. I want to see them talking about crime. It seems like Mayor Harris has done a lot for the county. I think he's been doing a good job.
I think I'll probably vote for Clinton just because the Republicans have that sink-or-swim strategy and I see a lot of people in Hawaii on the brink of sinking or swimming. I have relatives and friends, who had kids right out of high school, on welfare and I don't want to see them homeless.
Providing primary health care for all Americans seems like a good idea. Even if you can't afford it, you can at least have physicals, get medicine. The Republicans aren't supporting that kind of thing. They seem to be saying, "Pay your own or don't get it."
For my generation, I would say get involved because sooner than we realize it, we'll be the ones that need to be taking the jobs that will educate the people of Hawaii, that will lead the people of Hawaii in the next century.
We are the ones that will be the next mayors, the next governors, the next senators and representatives. Maybe we have a little bit of time but before we know it, it'll fly by and we'll be the ones who need to step up. We may have some trouble doing that if we keep going the way we are.