What I Learned From A Simple Vacation To Hawaii

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific

Because of the wife, we celebrated an anniversary in Hawaii. Those who know us know she is more intelligent than I am but that is not what led to the trip. She is far more organized than I am and that is what led to the trip.

When John Denver wrote 'Almost, heaven, West Virginia,' in the lyrics of the song Take Me Home, Country Roads, he was either lying or ignorant. If any place on earth is almost heaven, that's Hawaii. Unlike West Virginia, one doesn't have to shovel snow when living in Hawaii. Better yet, Hawaii doesn't allow people to bring snakes to the island--it's a felony to try to. And when one tours Hawaii, just when one thinks it is safe to put the camera away, another breathtaking scenic view pops up.

But more than all of the breathtaking scenery and the nice weather, Hawaii, more than anywhere in America that I know of, knows how to do multiculturalism right. Though some of its land can rightly be described as land that time forgot, the same cannot be said of its people. And that is despite its authoritarian beginnings that started with native tribes followed by Christian Imperialism, Hawaii rightfully boasts of being the melting pot of the Pacific. Perhaps one reason for that achievement is that its demographics. For Whites do not make up the majority in Hawaii.

And yet, Hawaii is, at best, almost heaven. The high cost of living and the limited economic opportunities have caused many young Hawaiians to leave for Las Vegas--unofficially labeled as Hawaii's ninth island. Increased competition, government controls, and diversifying the economy could help in reducing the economic problems that many experience. And when examining today's economies of places like Venezuela, diversifying one's economy is the best way to ensure a state's or nation's long-term economic security. 

Hawaii once lived off of sugar cane and pineapple exports. But when cheaper labor (a.k.a., exploited labor) in other countries  made those Hawaiian products non-competitive on the market, then the sugar plantations disappeared and the production of pineapple became a mere shadow of the past--though we did visit a pineapple plantation and learned first hand that fresh pineapple rules.

In terms of multiculturalism, environmentalism, and economics, Hawaii is not a people that forgot. And that is great for Hawaii for two of those three factors. Today's economics revolves around enriching investors. In fact, occasionally one can hear a CEO say that enriching their shareholders is their only concern. That their customers' interests, nor that of their workers, are not that important. And it isn't until we demand an economy that sufficiently serves interests of all the stakeholders rather than just the interests of the shareholders. that we will see an economy that works for all of us. And when that occurs in Hawaii, then we could remove the word 'almost' from the line:

Almost Heaven, that's Hawaii.

Of course that only can be heaven on earth, not real heaven.