• No Mars trip • Swimming safety • Nude sunbathing enforcement • On space program No Mars trip I’d like to offer a voice of dissent to President Bush’s recent proposal to go back to the moon, then on to
• No Mars trip
• Swimming safety
• Nude sunbathing enforcement
• On space program
No Mars trip
I’d like to offer a voice of dissent to President Bush’s recent proposal to go back to the moon, then on to Mars and beyond. Things seem to be quite peaceful out there in space, in stark contrast to conditions here on earth, where human beings have been killing each other in the name of God, politics, and greed since “forever” (not to mention speciecide and environmental degradation).
I can only imagine a scenario similar to the “discovery” of the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific Islands by Europeans. Here humans of different colors, customs and languages, but of the same species, quickly resorted to “the law of the jungle” with the stronger more “advanced” groups, enslaving, exploiting, stealing the land, and killing almost to the point of genocide, if not genocide in fact.
What will humans do if we find “intelligent” life “out there”? Human history will repeat itself. When misunderstandings arise, humans will lash-out, as we always have, with our “kill or be killed” mentality. If we encounter peaceful beings who do not know violence, they soon will.
Let’s leave voyages of discovery to outer space until we learn to live in peace with each other on this tiny planet. If we humans can only live in a constant state of war, violence, and exploitation, that is what we will take with us, that is what we will perpetuate. Please, Mr. President, let’s leave the rest of the universe in peace.
Biff Whiting
Kalaheo
Swimming safety
I am a junior at Waimea High School and have been involved with swimming, both as a water aide teaching swimming and as a competitive swimmer, since I was in the sixth grade.
My younger sister recently went with her fourth grade class to the Waimea Pool for a water safety field trip. Approximately half of the entire fourth graders (about 40 kids) could not swim one length of the pool! This is completely disgraceful and unconscionable. We live on an island completely surrounded by water; being able to survive and know what to do in the water is vital.
When my class went on our water safety field trip five years ago, only about 10 to 15 kids could not swim. The importance of swimming is obviously not as high as a priority as it should be.
I believe that by the time students graduate from high school they should be able to swim at least 100 yards (four pool lengths) and effectively know survival skills (floating, treading water, etc.).
I know that a student drowned at the Waimea Pool. I would have hoped that this incident would have provided a much-needed wake-up call to the island. Water safety awareness should have been increased a long time ago so that all accidental drownings can be avoided. Instead, the opposite has been taking place over the years. Doesn’t it make more sense to invest our valuable resources to teach water safety and swimming skills to our children instead of having to use it on rescue operations?
I really hope to see an increase in water safety classes in the elementary years and carried on through middle and high school. Living in Hawai‘i, everyone should be able to enjoy the water, and knowing how to be safe makes the experience so much more fun for all.
Katelyn Umetsu
‘Ele‘ele
Nude sunbathing enforcement
A friend told me he was nude sunbathing at Larsen’s Beach this past weekend when three cops came up and demanded identification, then took his photo (presumably when he was clothed) and told him if he was ever found naked on a Kauai beach again, he would be booked. He said they did the same to a friend of his.
Yes, we all know nude sunbathing is illegal, but is this really an enforcement priority, especially when the force reportedly has 25 unfilled vacancies? If they currently have the manpower to send three cops to crack down on nudists at Larsen’s, six cops to cover the PMRF hearing at Kalaheo Schools, 10 cops (plus SWAT team guys) to arrest alleged trespassers on Papa‘a Road and two cops in separate cars to harass me when I was picking ginger in the middle of the day at the Makaleha Springs parking lot (illegally demanding identification and saying they liked to keep track of everyone who used that area), maybe they don’t really need all those extra positions. Perhaps the mayor and council could divert the money to something useful, like protecting beach access and acquiring new ones.
Joan Conrow
Kilauea
On space program
Is President Bush’s proposal to expand the space program a good idea?
A major reason why Americans value the space program is that the sight of human achievement—especially as embodied in the technological prowess of space exploration—inspires them to realize their own dreams here on earth. But by proposing a massive new government program that threatens increased taxes, greater deficits and inflation, Bush is robbing American taxpayers of their ability to realize their earthly ambitions. If Bush wants to encourage achievement, he should concentrate on eliminating the plethora of government regulations, taxes and bureaucracies that are strangling American producers.
If Americans were once again free to keep more of what is rightfully theirs and to invest more in their own ambitions, there is no telling how many would be inspired to achieve their dreams here on earth.
Yaron Brook
Executive Director, Ayn Rand Institute
