When we talk about a government of, for and by the PEOPLE, the thought of a revolution comes to mind. When we think of a revolution we think of the masses in the streets carrying weapons of all sorts going up against corrupt government officials and agencies. It makes for a good movie but for a reality disaster.
But what if a group of people actively decided to put the power back in their hands and in a well thought out process could actually effect change in government? And what if that process could serve as an example for the rest of the nation and ultimately the power would be back in the hands of the people, equating to a government that actually was a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?
Let me tell you what’s going on in Hawaii, which could eventually encompass the entire United States.
In the last several years, a street phrase became really popular in Hawaii. It was a word that translated people’s discouragement and disenchantment into fake “Hawaiianized” language. The word is “Ainokea”
(eye-no-kay-ah). The word is local pidgin for “I no care” or mainland for “I don’t give a s#&t”!
So, a group of people wanting to make changes, decided to turn that phrase around so it would reflect hope and determination, not discouragement and apathy, and show pride in protecting the people and the aina (eye-na) (land) with aloha or the spirit of love and friendship.
There’s a bit of a back-story. The Hawaii Hotel Workers’ Union, Local 5, was besieged with a grave issue. The non-local, or mainland hotel owners were tuning their hotels into condominiums and laying off union employees in droves. Not much aloha spirit there was there?
So, about a year ago, the “Aikea” (I care) movement was launched when more than 150 local 5 members and nearly 90 community leaders convened a Community Conference and ratified Aikea’s platform. Today, Aikea is a growing alliance of organizations like local 5 and other key leaders from various faith, civic and community organizations, educators and students, who care about the future of Hawaii and are committed to building a larger social movement toward government changes. Aikea works towards making the platform a reality by engaging ordinary people in organizing collectively for social justice.
Since its launch, they have spoken with thousands of people about Aikea and why they need to build a larger social and political movement to take back the power into the hands of the people.
They have built political power by engaging voters and asking people to vote together to win together. This has resulted in 2 allies on the City council and 1 in the House of Representatives.
They have raised critical consciousness on issues like the Public Land Development Corporation (Act 55) and are working hard to get the PLDC repealed.
The PLDC allows just 5 people to “fast track” our public lands – shoreline, harbors, parks, schools, and ceded lands – while removing adequate public input from the process.
Laws like Act 55 are examples of why our political system is broken and why Aikea needs to build a real movement.
Repealing the PLDC is an opportunity to bring together and unite many diverse segments of our communities.
Whether you care about the environment or keeping good jobs for local people on island or where you live, or likely both, you too can be a part of a growing community of people who care and are willing to act together to make a healthier, more sustainable, compassionate and resilient vision for Hawaii and elsewhere possible.
I live in a valley called Aina Haina (eye-na hi-na). Aina means land, as mentioned above, and Haina is named after Robert Hind, the man who developed the valley. At the end of our street and at the beginning of the Hawaii ceded lands, there is a 5-hour hiking trail that allows one to go to the top of the mountain and view the other side and is breathtaking.
Not to leave well enough alone, a former politician allowed a developer named Jeff Stone to build a gated community at the end of the trail and block off the hiking trail. Through community efforts and despite government corruption, that project has been put on hold and the trail is still accessible to all. I shudder to think what would have happened had the people not freaked out and loudly voiced their objections.
While it is not the only way to make change, building political power is critical in the shift towards a people over profit driven policy. It allows the opportunity for thousands to be spoken to, building a larger and stronger movement and helps elect leadership who will stand with and support the people.
In Hawaii’s August 2012 Primary election, 4,134 “yes” votes were identified via a door-to-door operation, 31,680 doors were knocked on, and 12,331 voters were spoken to. In the General election, the 3 Aikea candidates were elected.
Aikea stands for the following:
HOUSING
Aikea stands for healthy communities that provide affordable, safe and comfortable housing for all; a community that is well maintained, energy efficient, diverse, child friendly and community-centric. Aikea believes everyone deserves to live in neighborhoods where their voices are heard and where they have a say. Public commons are a critical aspect of a healthy community.
EDUCATION
Aikea stands for healthy communities that ensure safe learning environments that are free from threats, fear, and violence and where students and teachers have a voice. Aikea believes that beginning with early childhood and throughout life, free, high quality public education should be accessible to all. Education systems should unlock lifelong curiosity and love of learning, nurture critical thinking, build a sense of community and environmental responsibility, foster creativity, and establish a competent and confident generation that is willing and able to remain in our state and build healthier communities.
JOBS/ECONOMY
Aikea stands for healthy communities that economically sustainable and put people before profit. A healthy community recognizes workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. Workers earn a living wage under safe working conditions and have a collective voice in their workplaces in an environment free from threats, fear and violence. Mutual respect in the workplace fosters labor equality. Our unions empower workers, build generations of strong communities, sustain businesses, and strengthen local economies.
EQUALITY
Aikea stands for healthy communities that celebrate the contributions of all people. Embracing differing backgrounds and experiences brings a richness to our lives. When people of all abilities, class, nationalities, races, ages, and the multiplicity of genders, faiths and sexualities forge strong alliances, everyone can thrive.
LAND-USE/ENVIRONMENT
Aikea stands for healthy communities where thoughtful and well-planned development gives consideration to including open space, a clean environment and the careful stewardship of natural resources. In the native Hawaiian culture, all oceans, lands, and waters are finite. The “kuleana of malama aina” means that the people care for the land, and in return the land is bountiful and the people thrive. The over-representation of land ownership and occupation by the military, absentee landowners, and off-island corporations erode the reciprocal nature of sustaining “kuleana” (standing behind your conviction and belief).
HEALTH
Aikea stands for healthy communities that promote health as a basic, human right. Healthy communities recognize that giving and receiving care are fundamental aspects of living. While high quality and accessible medical infrastructure are essential to a healthy community, care giving does not only happen in hospitals or professional facilities. All caregivers should be supported, including those at foster homes and care homes and people looking after relatives, companions, neighbors and friends. All who need care should have affordable, speedy, and reliable access to knowledgeable and respectful care providers who are sensitive to cultures’ and individuals’ histories and experiences. Language access and cultural competency are essential to quality universal health care.
ART & CULTURE
Aikea believes that Hawaii’s artists, musicians, and cultural practitioners are Hawaii’s pride, and an integral part of a healthy community. Support for all the arts creates clean jobs, enhances quality of life for all, and keeps Hawaii’s dollars in Hawaii. Rather than importing entertainment, we should export Hawaii’s cultural production to the world. Arts education expands intellect and creativity, the building blocks for a productive, life-affirming future. We call for a New Deal for the arts that will fund cultural production, provide arts jobs, and bring art and music curriculum back to the schools.
HAWAIIAN SELF-DETERMINATION
Aikea affirms that the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation, and the displacement of Hawaiians from their ancestral lands, is a wound on Hawaii’s history that has not healed. While just resolution of Hawaiian sovereignty claims will require considerable struggle and reconciliation within and with the indigenous Polynesian people of Hawaii community, we acknowledge Hawaiian claims in order to build a broad coalition for quality of life in Hawaii. We acknowledge and support the Hawaiian right to self-determination and join with the indigenous Polynesian people of Hawaii in the struggle to make Hawaiian values – including care of the land and care of one another – the core of public policy in Hawaii. A Hawaii that respects a better Hawaii for all of us.
We, the people of Hawaii declare that the 1% has the power until the 99% takes it back.
We are creating a new political movement that embraces our diversity, promotes justice, and rejects politicians who break their word. A movement committed to the simple idea that working families must lead so that everyone can work, everyone can learn, everyone has a
home, and everyone respects and preserves our island home.
Our people are being pushed off our island because they cannot afford a home for their families; our kids are being robbed of school days while developers are being given handouts; our local jobs are given away while more locals aren’t being paid a living wage; our land is being turned over to mainland developers while our environment is spoiled by greed; and our sick and elderly continue to be denied access to the care they need.
We shall reclaim Hawaii for our future!
Obviously, Hawaii has a bit of uniqueness to it, being an island culture. But, in one way or another don’t we all share many of the same problems?
If Hawaii can take steps to make changes applicable to them, why can’t you take steps to make changes applicable to you?
It’s called uniting! I don’t care if the issue is GMO labeling, or Big Pharma dominance regarding health, or Big Food caring little for food quality and only shelf life and profits, if we all can come together on a common ground, we will prevail.
I would think that with every State, except Hawaii, being polluted by toxic fluoride being dumped into the water supply that would be a great place to start.
Aloha!
To learn more about Hesh, listen to and read hundreds of health related radio shows and articles, and learn about how to stay healthy and reverse degenerative diseases through the use of organic sulfur crystals and other amazing superfoods, please visit www.healthtalkhawaii.com, or email me at [email protected] or call me at (808) 258-1177. Since going on the radio in 1981 these are the only products I began to sell because they work.
Just to put things in perspective, after I graduated from Weequahic High School and before going to Seton Hall University, I had a part-time job working for a butcher. I was the delivery guy and occasionally had to go to the slaughterhouse to pick up products for the store. Needless to say, I had no consciousness nor awareness, as change never came then despite the horrors I witnessed on an almost daily basis.
After graduating with a degree in accounting from Seton Hall, I eventually got married and moved to a town called Livingston. Livingston was basically a yuppie community where everyone was judged by the neighborhood they lived in and their income. To say it was a "plastic" community would be an understatement.
Livingston and the shallowness finally got to me. I told my wife I was fed up and wanted to move. She made it clear she had to be near her friends and New York City. I finally got my act together and split for Colorado.
I was living with a lady in Aspen at the end of 1974, when one day she said, " let's become vegetarians". I have no idea what possessed me to say it, but I said, "okay"! At that point I went to the freezer and took out about $100 worth of frozen, dead body parts and gave them to a welfare mother who lived behind us. Well, everything was great for about a week or so, and then the chick split with another guy.
So here I was, a vegetarian for a couple weeks, not really knowing what to do, how to cook, or basically how to prepare anything. For about a month, I was getting by on carrot sticks, celery sticks, and yogurt. Fortunately, when I went vegan in 1990, it was a simple and natural progression. Anyway, as I walked around Aspen town, I noticed a little vegetarian restaurant called, "The Little Kitchen".
Let me back up just a little bit. It was April of 1975, the snow was melting and the runoff of Ajax Mountain filled the streets full of knee-deep mud. Now, Aspen was great to ski in, but was a bummer to walk in when the snow was melting.
I was ready to call it quits and I needed a warmer place. I'll elaborate on that in a minute.
But right now, back to "The Little Kitchen". Knowing that I was going to leave Aspen and basically a new vegetarian, I needed help. So, I cruised into the restaurant and told them my plight and asked them if they would teach me how to cook. I told them in return I would wash dishes and empty their trash. They then asked me what I did for a living and I told them I was an accountant.
The owner said to me, "Let's make a deal. You do our tax return and we'll feed you as well". So for the next couple of weeks I was doing their tax return, washing their dishes, emptying the trash, and learning as much as I could.
But, like I said, the mud was getting to me. So I picked up a travel book written by a guy named Foder. The name of the book was, "Hawaii". Looking through the book I noticed that in Lahaina, on Maui, there was a little vegetarian restaurant called," Mr. Natural's". I decided right then and there that I would go to Lahaina and work at "Mr. Natural's." To make a long story short, that's exactly what happened.
So, I'm working at "Mr. Natural's" and learning everything I can about my new dietary lifestyle - it was great. Every afternoon we would close for lunch at about 1 PM and go to the Sheraton Hotel in Ka'anapali and play volleyball, while somebody stayed behind to prepare dinner.
Since I was the new guy, and didn't really know how to cook, I never thought that I would be asked to stay behind to cook dinner. Well, one afternoon, that's exactly what happened; it was my turn. That posed a problem for me because I was at the point where I finally knew how to boil water.
I was desperate, clueless and basically up the creek without a paddle. Fortunately, there was a friend of mine sitting in the gazebo at the restaurant and I asked him if he knew how to cook. He said the only thing he knew how to cook was enchiladas. He said that his enchiladas were bean-less and dairy-less. I told him that I had no idea what an enchilada was or what he was talking about, but I needed him to show me because it was my turn to do the evening meal.
Well, the guys came back from playing volleyball and I'm asked what was for dinner. I told them enchiladas; the owner wasn't thrilled. I told him that mine were bean-less and dairy-less. When he tried the enchilada he said it was incredible. Being the humble guy that I was, I smiled and said, "You expected anything less"? It apparently was so good that it was the only item on the menu that we served twice a week. In fact, after about a week, we were selling five dozen every night we had them on the menu and people would walk around Lahaina broadcasting, 'enchilada's at "Natural's" tonight'. I never had to cook anything else.
A year later the restaurant closed, and somehow I gravitated to a little health food store in Wailuku. I never told anyone I was an accountant and basically relegated myself to being the truck driver. The guys who were running the health food store had friends in similar businesses and farms on many of the islands. I told them that if they could organize and form one company they could probably lock in the State. That's when they found out I was an accountant and "Down to Earth" was born. "Down to Earth" became the largest natural food store chain in the islands, and I was their Chief Financial Officer and co-manager of their biggest store for 13 years.
In 1981, I started to do a weekly radio show to try and expose people to a vegetarian diet and get them away from killing innocent creatures. I still do that show today. I pay for my own airtime and have no sponsors to not compromise my honesty. One bit of a hassle was the fact that I was forced to get a Masters Degree in Nutrition to shut up all the MD's that would call in asking for my credentials.
My doing this radio show enabled me, through endless research, to see the corruption that existed within the big food industries, the big pharmaceutical companies, the biotech industries and the government agencies. This information, unconscionable as it is, enabled me to realize how broken our health system is. This will be covered more in depth in the Introduction and throughout the book and when you finish the book you will see this clearly and it will hopefully inspire you to make changes.
I left Down to Earth in 1989, got nationally certified as a sports injury massage therapist and started traveling the world with a bunch of guys that were making a martial arts movie. After doing that for about four years I finally made it back to Honolulu and got a job as a massage therapist at the Honolulu Club, one of Hawaii's premier fitness clubs. It was there I met the love of my life who I have been with since 1998. She made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She said," If you want to be with me you've got to stop working on naked women". So, I went back into accounting and was the Chief Financial Officer of a large construction company for many years.
Going back to my Newark days when I was an infant, I had no idea what a "chicken" or "egg" or "fish" or "pig" or "cow" was. My dietary blueprint was thrust upon me by my parents as theirs was thrust upon them by their parents. It was by the grace of God that I was able to put things in their proper perspective and improve my health and elevate my consciousness.
The road that I started walking down in 1975 has finally led me to the point of writing my book, “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Hopefully, the information contained herein will be enlightening, motivating, and inspiring to encourage you to make different choices. Doing what we do out of conditioning is not always the best course to follow. I am hoping that by the grace of the many friends and personalities I have encountered along my path, you will have a better perspective of what road is the best road for you to travel on, not only for your health but your consciousness as well.
Last but not least: after being vaccinated as a kid I developed asthma, which plagued me all of my life. In 2007 I got exposed to the organic sulfur crystals, which got rid of my asthma in 3 days and has not come back in over 10 years. That, being the tip of the iceberg, has helped people reverse stage 4 cancers, autism, joint pain, blood pressure problems, migraine headaches, erectile dysfunction, gingivitis, and more. Also, because of the detoxification effects by the release of oxygen that permeates and heals all the cells in the body, it removes parasites, radiation, fluoride, free radicals, and all the other crap that is thrust upon us in the environment by Big Business.
For more, please view www.healthtalkhawaii.com and www.asanediet.com.
Namaste!
