Americans should rethink lifestyle

Flag-flying or the lack thereof continues to be an issue on the talk shows and the media. Meanwhile the irony of China churning out American flags to answer the demands of American ultra-patriots for more flags escapes some people.

I did not hear outrage early in the summer when it was reported that a school blew up in China and many children died while they were manufacturing fireworks for the American Fourth of July celebration.

How would Betsy Ross have felt to know that her beloved flag was being sewn by slave labor in China?

The case for excessive consumption and globalization must be re-examined by thoughtful Americans.

Monica Soroka

Don't blame attack on Muslims or Arabs

During this time of trial and tribulation, all Americans need to keep in mind that it was Osama bin Ladin and his followers and not the people of Islam, Shiites, Afghans or Arabs who perpetrated this horrible act.

Bin Ladin no more represents the view of all the people of the Islamic faith than David Koresh or Jim Jones represented the view of all Christians. We are Americans and should act like Americans and not sink to bin Ladin's level by targeting innocent people just because they happen to be Muslims or of Middle Eastern ancestry.

The war we are entering into must be against the criminals who have targeted not only Americans but people of all nations. It also is very important that we keep in mind that, unlike Americans who choose their government, the Afghan people did not choose the Taliban as their government but were forced to accept their rule after many years of civil war.

Steven Marsh
Mililani

[Quotables] "Furloughing employees is the last thing we wanted to do, but we've exhausted all other options." Paul J. Casey Hawaiian Airlines vice chief executive officer, announcing the layoffs of 430 employees because the drastic drop off in tourists in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on American cities. "It was so good to get off that bike. I'm a lot better on the field than on the bike." Travis Laboy University of Hawaii defensive end, who trained on a stationary bike instead of with his teammates last month because of injuries. He was scheduled to start today's UH game against Rice.

State sheriffs create calm with searches

It is difficult to go anywhere without the reminder of the heinous crimes committed on Sept. 11. Perhaps, nowhere is it as visible, or as affected, as the Honolulu Airport area.

As I drive to work each day to one of the few buildings located on Lagoon Drive, each car is subject to identification checks by members of the state's Special Services Division. Although it slows the flow entering Lagoon Drive, the men and women who perform this duty should be commended for the risks they take by searching vehicles as they stop.

I am comforted knowing that my co-workers and I are being protected; our safety, along with everyone else who works behind the cones, is in the hands of very competent individuals, who have nothing but our safety in their minds. I, for will not complain of the rather small inconvenience this safety measure is causing.

Because of the presence of these officers, a calm, contented feeling has permeated what used to be a road used by drag racers and speedsters driving at speeds definitely higher than the limits posted.

Maikolo S. Meli

Home is best place to be in a crisis

As I write this my eyes are drawn to my computer's desktop bitmap of Kaimuki taken from Tantalus, with the comforting sight of Diamond Head filling the background. I'll bet there are many of us living on the mainland "because there's work" are wishing we could be back home right now. I sure do.

Since I can't just move back tomorrow about all I can do is pretend to be back home. I wear T-shirts from back home. I don't turn on the TV or radio anymore, but instead listen to Hawaiian music CDs at home and stream Hawaiian radio stations over the Internet at work. The only news I track I read in the online edition of the Star-Bulletin. If something real big happens I'll see it there or someone will tell me I'm sure.

In the car I watch with earnestness for the telltale signs of Hawaiian life on the mainland. Yesterday, I was walking through a huge suburban Seattle mall and caught a whiff of plumeria. I stopped dead in my tracks for a second, then realized it was just perfume. Sometimes the air conditioning at work recycles and the air becomes warm and humid for a moment. Home at last!

I talk almost daily now to family and friends in Hawaii and everyone is worried about the economy. Here in Seattle with all the layoffs that don't seem to slow down, I wonder are we better off finding work on the mainland? Maybe not any more.

My family plans to move back home one day. We'll keep an eye on things and make the move sooner than we'd planned, but not soon enough.

B. Kanamu
Seattle, Wash.

Let's show the world what we're made of

President Bush should ask Congress for $40 billion to help recover from the terrorist acts committed upon our country.

I propose he set up the "Independence Fund" as specified below, and I will send him my family's $600 tax rebate in the hopes that the American people will follow suit and raise another $40 billion.

>>$200 for relief to victims and families of the attack.

>>$200 to renewable energy resource development to eliminate our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. This will ensure that America is not indirectly funding terrorist arms, training or support. This will also ensure that we will only have humanitarian interest in any country that may directly or indirectly be supporting terrorists with oil proceeds. America is a nation of inventors and integrators. Let us put our minds together and create the means to eliminate our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

>>$150 to beef up our military forces.

>> $50 to start a Future Victims' Fund both here and abroad. I cannot deny those who want revenge, but I realize that obtaining justice will undoubtedly cost innocent lives here and abroad.

Together we can show the world how a superpower rises above the gut instinct to lash back and instead unify in a reasonable, humane and pro-active way for a common just cause.

Mac Townsend

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