Saturday, October 9, 2010
Mokauea Island
My first impression of Mokauea Island was, "How can these people live here?" I mean, there is no electricity or bathroom facilities! But I soon realized that these judgements of a person influenced by Western culture and spoon feed basic utilities need to function on a daily basis. The ancient Hawaiian were able to function and support nearly 800,000 people without electricity, advance technologies, or other utilities. The ancient Hawaiians were even able to support their population without exploiting their resources. After hearing the story of what actually happened in the past to the residents of the island and what they are trying to do, I soon respected their efforts and was eager to assist them in the future. It was clear that the residents weren't trying to conform to the way of life of the "mainland" of Oahu. They were trying to live the life that their ancestors had. They are trying to restore the island that should not have been taken from them in the first place. I can truly respect their efforts of being a self-sustaining island and being an example of how our society should function and respect the environment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
thanks, brittany! i guess we live in a world where judgments are not only being made regularly, but where doing so is normal. i'm guilty myself. sooner or later we learn to break that habit. and when we do, we actually begin to enjoy ourselves and to see where we fit in. today i went to visit a friend and the first thing i thought was "what a mess". and within a minute, i decided that because she was sick, she wasn't able to do much, so i ended up helping her straighten up, and straightening myself up, as well. i felt better. she felt better. i definitely have to get over this idea that someone should be conforming to what i think is 'normal'. okay, having said that, i know what you were going through, but i figure i might as well try to make things better instead of passing judgment. glad you went to mokauea island.
ReplyDelete