Letters to the Editor for Thursday — March 25, 2004

• Solar letter comment

• Solar, Weir & the offended

• University lands

Solar letter comment

I hope it will be feasible for The Garden Island to set aside personal, political or ideological biases, if any, in connection with this response to reader R.S. Weir’s letter to TGI on March 21, relating to Sen. Gary Hooser, whom Mr. Weir refers to as “Kaua‘i’s own socialist senator.” I know from previous letters he has written that Mr. Weir is otherwise a thoughtful and apparently Thatcherite conservative commentator. Perhaps Mr. Weir will therefore see some merit in what follows, aside from whether or not energy-efficient water heaters are a good idea or a bad idea, which are clearly separate matters from the issue of Mr. Hooser’s politics.

The reason this is the case is that Mr. Weir’s broad-brush political and ideological assumptions in the instance of Hooser’s politics seem to suggest that Mr. Weir fundamentally misunderstands American po-litical culture. This is a serious matter, which does a serious disservice to TGI readers, if allowed to go unchallenged in print. This is because to compare a Senate bill on energy efficiency, even if it creates a new statute with a mandate about which Mr. Weir fundamentally disagrees, to Mussolini’s fascist ideology, is silly. Surely, Mr. Weir knows better.

More important than whether Mr. Weir does or does not know better is the possibility that people reading such a letter might actually think that Mr. Weir’s characterization of American rugged individualism, as well as Mr. Hooser’s political leanings as expressed in the Senate water-heater bill, have any reality whatsoever, either in political terms or historical fact. The plain and simple fact is that Mr. Weir has confused economic individualism: i.e., should people “have” to install energy-efficient water heaters which, according to Mr. Weir, “will add $3,500 to $5,000 to (the cost of) every new house built,” with political individualism. If Mr. Weir was actually conversant with classical Liberalism as a political theory, he would surely know that John Stuart Mill saw individualist society as one in which people are unconstrained by conformity, meaning sameness, which then allows unconstrained free expressions of different ideas. Has Mr. Weir never heard of the First Amendment?

Moreover, fascism along the lines of Mussolini is not only completely out of touch with liberalism as political theory, it is also out of touch with democratic socialism. Gary Hooser could not be a fascist/socialist as defined by his energy Senate bill, even if he wanted to. The reason for this is because fascism is a “monist” political ideology, which means that the Italian fascists believed there were fundamental truths about humanity and environment — that could not be questioned. The Democratic Socialist Workers Party, under Adolf Hitler, also believed this. Therefore, can one truly believe that Mr. Hooser’s Senate bill as applied to energy-efficient water heaters, even if in the end some new-home owners have to install them, is somehow mindful of fascist ideology? I think not.

What Mr. Weir is actually doing in his letter is inadvertently opposing the very thing that he claims defines America, which is free speech. Does this make Mr. Weir a closet fascist? Of course not! His letter about SB 2682 and Gary Hooser’s politics is simply thoughtless and out of touch with Mr. Weir’s usual standard of public commentary.

Derick Harris

Kapa‘a

Solar, Weir & the offended

I read with great interest and concern the comments by Mr. (R.S.) Weir. If the government is suggesting that solar systems or the like become mandatory, then like the Glasses I would be offended, but not at R.S. Weir, but the government. It was clear to me that Mr. Weir was pointing out that our right to choose freely, a basic right, is being eroded again by the all- knowing elected officials.

I have built many homes on Kaua‘i, and many are (for) first-time homeowners where budgets are very tight. Because (of) the high cost of building, permits, labor, insurances, and now possible government-mandated requirements, the cost of housing is over $100 per square foot for a modest-sized home. While solar is a good thing for the long haul, many times home-buyers opt using a electric water heater because the initial cost is far less than investing in a solar system. Many times it means buying necessary appliances (stove, refrigerator, washer) in lieu of choosing to buy a solar system. The bottom line is cost, but more importantly is what Mr. Weir is pointing out is the fundamental right to choose for ourselves, and now with the possible government-enforced requirement to use solar ($3,500 after possible rebate) or a 50-gallon electric water heater ($450). Many might argue that solar is best in the long run, but if you don’t have the money I guess you can take cold showers. Oh well…thanks again to the elected officials who just raised the cost of building again for your own good.

Robert L. Bentley

Lihu‘e

University lands

The investigation by the U.S. Department of Education of our university for alleged giving of waivers to Hawaiian students is uncalled for.

The lands that the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa now occupy were part of the Victoria Kamamalu Estate.

Kamamalu was the granddaughter of Kamehameha I and daughter of Kuhina Nui Kinau. She was well-landed. Some say, the estate controlled more land than all of the chiefs put together.

Presently, most of the Kamamalu lands through judicial probate decisions from the past, are now called Kamehameha Schools. The portion of Kamamalu’s land set aside for the university, in a sense, belongs to all Hawaiians. So, it is only right that some of the indigent Hawaiian children do get waivers.

One final note. All students do enjoy some kind of waiver — the Hawaiian Queen’s free land, which the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa occupies.

Paul D. Lemke

Kapa‘a