Don’t ask me when I first heard this quote or who said it first – because I don’t know and neither apparently, does Google.

But it’s stuck in my brain and I’m hoping it will stick in yours as well.

As we head into a new year, I encourage all to tell good stories.

Tell your children, your neighbors and friends – stories of joy and happiness, of courage and achievement, of discovery, of gratifying work, of ohana who love and help each other.

And yes, tell stories about politics and policy – about how together as a community, united in purpose AND committed to showing up and engaging in the process, we can make a difference.

In both small ways that impact directly our friends and neighbors AND in large ways that move the needle for everyone – as individuals and as a collective community, we can change the world.

I don’t make this statement lightly. I’ve seen it happen, up close and personal.

During my own nearly 30 year journey navigating the path of policy and politics I’ve seen previously homebound kūpuna smile and laugh in public without shame or hesitation – after free dental care was provided by a local government grant.

I spoke recently to a man working multiple jobs – who 6 months ago was living with his wife and 2 children in his car. Today, due in large part to the unified voices of affordable housing advocates in the community – they occupy a 2 bedroom permanently affordable apartment.

10 years ago the minimum wage in Hawaiʻi was $7.75 per hour, today it’s $16. This huge achievement happened because regular people united in purpose AND engaged in the political/policy process – showed up to demand it and refused to leave the room until it was passed.

Because of unrelenting community action, we now have pesticide-free buffer zones around schools, mandatory reporting of restricted use pesticides statewide, and a total ban on some of the worst.

The people of Maui County conceived, created, and passed Bill 9 which has the potential of converting thousands of Maui transient vacation rentals (TVR’s) into housing for local residents – AND sends a massive message of change and community empowerment across the entire archipelago.

The list of positive changes that only happened because of a community BOTH unified in purpose and ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS, is way too long for this story.

And yes, of course we need universal healthcare and permanently affordable housing for ALL local residents, a true living wage, stronger buffer zones, and the elimination of TVR’s outside of hotel/resort districts.

We need to stand up strong against the illegal, unconstitutional, and authoritarian policies of President Trump, stop the bombing at Pōhakuloa, eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels (NO liquid natural gas), be food self-sufficient, fully fund public education, reform our broken criminal justice system, expose and prosecute bribery and corruption in government, and so much more.

And YES, we can achieve all this and more when we’re truly unified in purpose and actively engaged in the process.

These are the stories we must tell.

Screaming into the wind, pounding out our anger on a keyboard – is not enough.

To win, we gotta show up, testify at the hearings, send those emails, make those phone calls AND get our friends to do the same.

We must engage in the process of policy-making, support and join organizations engaged in this work, and contact directly those public officials elected to represent us.

2026 is an election year, and there’s no better time than now to tell stories about finding, supporting, and electing the change-makers we so desperately need.

Yes, we must do it all and yes it’s a whole lot of work – but the stakes are high and losing is not an option.

Please join me today and every day during the coming year. Let’s together tell stories of a better world, stories of how we banded together, climbed the mountain – and helped make it happen.

Imua.

Gary Hooser
Just a regular guy trying his best to learn, and grow, and do good things along the way.