There is a touching story about how Queen Liliu’okalani bid farewell to her people.
Every Hawaiian remembered the sad days a few years before when intruders stormed the capitol of their country and stole their kingdom. Worst of all, the intruders had put their beloved queen in jail, keeping her captive in her own palace.
The day finally came when the proud Hawaiian people had to watch their flag lowered and a flag of a foreign country raised in its place. The foreigners cheered while the crowd of Hawaiians stood in silent protest watching their noble kingdom pass away.
As their flag was slowly dropping down, they heard a beautiful voice singing above. They looked up to the balcony of the palace and there was their royal queen sweetly singing “Aloha ‘Oe. Farewell to you.” Tears flowed as hundreds of Hawaiians said goodbye to their kingdom with peace in their hearts.
This is fairly close to what happened and the protest was based on truth with a heart of goodness and aloha.
Journeying back many years to early America, trouble was brewing in the colonies. England was oppressing the colonists by over-taxing them and pushing them around in the streets. Taxes were too high — we all know that problem.
The tax they paid on tea was especially high. and they had no voice in how they were governed. It was making life hard for the people. They had to fight back.
A few daring patriots in Boston came up with a plan.
One night, they dressed up with painted faces and wore feathers, and with danger all around they snuck onto British ships in the harbor and tossed all the tea into the sea.
It was called the Boston Tea Party. They had fought back and gave themselves dignity.
Like the queen and her people singing their song, the Boston Tea Party was a protest of truth and justice with a heart of goodness.
There were many marches yet to come, the right of women to vote was a big issue.
From the very beginning, women could not vote. America was a country for 140 years and women still had no say in elections. Right after the Civil War, former male slaves got the vote, but not women. They had to wait another 50 years for equality.
Women marched in the streets, were beaten down and put in jail but they kept on until justice prevailed and they had the same rights as men.
All their protests were based on truth and justice with a heart of goodness.
The biggest wrong of all is racial prejudice. Blacks went through so many hardships until Rosa Parks sat down on a bus, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood up with a dream and marched until finally African Americans had equal rights. But the fight goes on.
They protested with truth and with heart and finally won.
Hawaiians, Native Americans, and many others have marched for their beliefs to gain a better life. And every single protest from the beginning of this country, and of all time has had a bit of truth and heart behind it.
That is until last week at the U.S. Capitol. It was not a protest with a cause, it had no cause.
Another riot with looters.
It was not based on truth and goodness. It was based on a lie and darkness.
Time for all of us to join together and step into the light.
Dennis Gregory writes a bi-weekly column for West Hawaii Today and welcomes your comments at makewavess@yahoo.com