Recognition is sweet music to band conductor's ears
I would like to express my thanks for Diane Chang's Dec. 15 column about St. Andrew's Priory's Christmas Concert. I gratefully accept this recognition on behalf of all the musicians, singers and conductors throughout Hawaii who rush, rush, rush through rehearsals, planning, performing and basically surviving this time of year.It is a wonderful Christmas present for us to know that our efforts do not fall on deaf ears but, in fact, make a difference in this hectic season.
Musicians, singers and conductors everywhere need to know that we have an awesome responsibility. Much like the little drummer boy, our humble gift of music can be the most precious gift of all.
To all who aspire to this noble task, Merry Christmas!
Gordon Tokishi
Director of Bands
St. Andrew's Priory
Democratic revolution has present-day lesson
If there is anything to be learned from the 1954 Democratic overthrow of the Republican elite, it is that each of us should be very weary of a new and better revolution that brings the promise of a complete transformation of society toward a better life.The move toward Hawaiian sovereignty, for instance, is a revolution in that it condemns the self-centered philosophy of American capitalism and promises a more just and free society by way of a culture that respects both the land and the people.
However, the ugliness that has emerged in the Bishop Estate and more recent OHA controversies should remind us of the lesson that we have learned from the Democratic revolution: The delirium of power, prestige and wealth that causes the rulers to become indifferent to the plight of the people transcends both class and race boundaries.
Bishop Estate/OHA should tell us that it is time to stop looking for any kind of revolution to cure all the ills in our lives and in our society.
Instead of blindly giving support to those who claim an inherent right to rule, we should be creating the good life every single day by actively engaging in the politics of the society in which we live.
Cindy Mackey
Pearl City
Lindsey vs. Chun is like snake vs. crane
Just by looking at the photo portraits of Lokelani Lindsey and Mike Chun, one can see that this is the classic battle of the snake and the crane. The snake will attempt to go for the soft underbelly, as Lindsey has already done in typical micromanagement style. The crane's initial response will be to take flight.
The crane, floating on the currents of the air, can gather superior intelligence, while the snake, now deprived of a presenting enemy, is at risk of getting mesmerized by its own intensity, or even entangled in its own coils.
Inevitably, with lightning speed, deadly accuracy and from an unpredictable direction, the sharp beak descends on the snake. The crane's talons are also deadly to the snake in close combat. What, after all, can be a snake but the appointed prey of a crane? This has long been understood in Chinese martial arts.
The $220,000 figure that Lindsey kvetches about in connection with Chun represents some three months of her own pay as trustee. She will never, in a million years, persuade a single person that three months of her questionable service is worth more than Chun's entire distinguished career, for which many stand ready to vouch.
Mike Pettingill
Kailua
Kentucky shooting victims were revictimized by writer
I would like to propose a correction regarding Janice Judd's Dec. 11 letter titled, "Kentucky killings show need for Christian values." Instead, it should have been titled, "Mindless dogma thinly disguised as sincere social concern."Judd's three-paragraph fundamentalist rant did not have the slightest thing to do with the Kentucky slayings. She just as easily could have been writing about the McVeigh bombing, the TWA explosion or the Texas inmate lockdown.
I think it would be polite for political factions to allow the Kentucky victims' families a little time to grieve, before seizing upon their plight as an example of why we should all be a certain way.
Bret Heilig
Kailua
Koreans must face up to their money mess
The Dec. 12 story, "Koreans express anger at their debtor status," showed too many Koreans crying too much over the milk of their own spilling, and over the IMF's rule of the game their own government had subscribed to.As for the IMF, it might have overkilled Korea a bit by exacting three presidential candidates' pledge of compliance. It could be misunderstood as salt added to a debt-trap wound, despite the proverb, "A good medicine tastes bitter, not better."
Anyhow, my bitter tips for a better South Korea are: Don't let anyone hoard anything. Never again be the world's No. 1 importer of fur coats, whiskey, etc., on borrowed money. Treat anyone spending public or private money beyond the nation's means as public enemy number one.
Cekay Korean Min
Kapolei
Hawaii taxpayers should inspect convention center
Presumably, our new convention center is completed and open for business. It would be a nice gesture on the part of the Convention Center Authority to have a series of open houses for the landlord, i.e. the taxpayers, to provide an opportunity to judge how the new facility compares with those elsewhere.Beyond that, it might just help to book future events, since many local people are members of national organizations that schedule large annual conferences and forever are on the lookout for new and better meeting places.
Paul J. Scheuer
Bishop Estate Archive
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