GaryHooser's Blog

“El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” – a people united will never be defeated, says it all. While the singular act of individuals can move mountains, the combined actions of a group create movements which can change history.

For those committed to making the world a better place and believe that government structures and civic action play a key role – here are 5 ways to make change happen.

It starts with each of us as individuals making conscious decisions in our daily lives.  Voting, buying local, supporting those businesses that care about people and the planet while boycotting the corporate thugs, polluters and purveyors of indentured servitude (disguised as low wage employers) are just a few examples.  Random acts of kindness and paying it forward are other key actions of power and intention.

Showing up, and being involved in the legislative process of changing public policy is essential.  Both as individuals and as part of a united collaborative group – it is vital that our collective voices be heard. The moneyed interests can afford to buy the ever-present lobbyist, paid to walk the halls of Congress, the State Legislature and the County. But the power of individual calls, emails and letters can win against the money if done thoughtfully and with the force of large numbers. 

The government structure we have, well…is pretty much the government structure we have.  My theory of why it too often seems either dysfunctional or a tool of the 1%, is that it was basically designed to be that way. The framers of the US constitution wanted government to move slowly. And in the beginning, it was white male property owners who controlled the vote and thus controlled the government.  

Cynics will of course say not much has changed. Government continues to move at a glacial pace, and those who own property continue to drive the political forces that control government. I suppose we can take some small element of perverse pride, that the property owners in Hawaii who control power and politics, are at least somewhat ethnically diverse.

So what to do?  

We have the government we have, changing public policy is an integral path to making things better, individual actions matter and el pueblo unido jamás será vencido.  

The short, here and now answer is to find, support and elect new people to public office. And not any old new people, but people who share our values, our commitment to putting people and the planet first, and who share the burning urgency that change must happen sooner rather than later.

And if all else fails (and/or in addition to the above) – We take the polluters and the corporate thugs to court and we sue.  We sue to protect our water and air, we sue to force our government to do its job and we sue the bad guys to force them to pay as high a price as possible for the damage they cause on so many levels.

2020 will be upon us very soon. Our focus, in my humble opinion (and for those that forget…this is an opinion column) should be on “throwing the bums out” and electing new bums that share our values 😉  

I use the word “bums” with love in my heart and with the intent to bring a smile to your face.

While many are prone to accuse incumbent legislators as “corrupt” or “in the pocket” of this or that special interest, I prefer to believe that most “bad” politicians simply view the world through a different lens. For some the lens is one of ideology, for others it’s a lens of convenience and political expediency. 

Of course, there are many good people serving in public office who when given the choice will do the right thing. We just need more of them.  A single strong legislator can make a difference, a handful of them can of course make a bigger difference, but what we really need is a majority. 

Thus it is essential for us to find, support and elect those individuals who share our world view.

The push and pull of politics and policy, is in fact a push and pull of values. Trust me on this one, if you are not pushing or pulling – you and your values will lose.

So let’s not lose.  Instead of rolling over and accepting the status quo, as individuals let’s work with our friends and neighbors and engage the system.  And not engage in a tip toe timid, afraid of breaking eggs kind of way, but in a full throated, charging up the hill, rip and shred (without malice of course) and I know I’m going to break some eggs and it’s really unavoidable kind of way, way.

Let’s show up at Council meetings and legislative hearings. Let’s email in more testimony, make more calls, and write even more letters to the editor. And yes, let’s keep the bad guys in court until they learn to behave as true good neighbors, or until they go out of business or leave our shores entirely.

But most of all, let’s focus on the elections of 2020, at all levels. The all important primary election is in August of 2020. Absentee ballots will be mailed just 13 months from now.  Serious candidates must start acting like serious candidates very soon.  For those of us seeking to support a political revolution of sorts, it is critical now that we reach out, identify solid candidates who share our values, and offer them our enthusiastic help and support, and yes money too. 

We do not have to accept the status quo.  History tells us, great and significant change comes when people get involved. 

The 5 pathways for action are clear.  Each separately has the power to make our world a better place. Working with all of them in unison, the potential is limitless:

1. Individual: The power of one vote, consumer choice and the power of the pocketbook.  
2. Community: Organizing, collaboration – “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido”
3. Legislative: Testifying, lobbying, writing letters, emails, telephone calls
4. Electoral: Running for office, supporting and/or opposing candidates.
5. Judicial: Fight them in the courts.

One of my first thoughts is to apologize to graduates everywhere, but sorry really doesn’t cut it.

Though my generation has screwed things up pretty badly, there are also many of us who have learned from our mistakes and are committed to making things better.

The truth is, we really, really, really need your help.

Yes, there have been some huge accomplishments and in some areas we have made great progress toward making the world a better place. Basic living standards and simple longevity for many are higher than they have ever been.

But we have also made tragic errors of judgment, starting and pursuing unnecessary and unending wars.

We marvel at the technological innovations developed in the past 50 years. However during this same time period we have failed to stop the widespread pollution of our environment, the drastic loss of species diversity and the imminent threat of sea level rise and climate change.

While the world of advertising inundates us with the symbols of wealth and prosperity, the reality is much different. In an April 24th interview with billionaire Ray Dalio, The Guardian reported that:

• We have a global economy where the wealth of the top 1% of the population is more than that of the bottom 90% of the population combined
• Forty per cent of all Americans would struggle to raise $400 in the event of an emergency.
• The childhood poverty rate in the US is now 17.5% and has not meaningfully improved for decades.
• The US scores lower than virtually all developed countries other than Italy and Greece on educational attainment.
• The US incarceration rate is nearly five times the average of other developed countries and three times that of emerging countries.
• For those in the bottom 60%, premature deaths are up by about 20% since 2000.

So yes graduates, we kinda need you.  We need you badly actually.

We need your leadership, your energy and your commitment to our shared future.

We need you to be willing to stand up, speak out and resist those forces in the world who pillage the planet and profit off the backs of the 99%. These same entities driven by greed and the desire of ever-increasing profits – fight every attempt to increase environmental protections or to improve the pay and working conditions for those that struggle daily just to make ends meet.

This is not hyperbole.  It is the real world. If you need evidence, just look around. Think about the chemical companies or “big banks” or “big pharma” or “big oil”…the list is long and the story is a sad one.

The struggle is real, both global and local.

Think about how the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce opposes every single attempt to increase the minimum wage for regular working people. Think about how a handful of our major landowners monopolize the land and the water, all the while seeking also to control the political processes that too often are used only to increase their profits.

Be honest with yourselves and look closely at the world we live in. Then choose a career that is grounded on principles of justice. If you go into business, then commit to a business that values economic, environment and social justice.  If you go into law, then do the same and fight hard for these values.  Whatever your path, place the pursuit and support of justice high on your priority list.

My hope is that some of you will consider careers in the world of public policy and government.  And yes, my hope is that those of you who feel truly driven to make our world better, will seek to serve in public office.

There is much to be done and Hawaii can serve as a model for the rest of the world.  I truly believe this.

Via changes in public policy, literally “with the stroke of a pen” – much can be accomplished.

• * We could require all rental cars meet a minimum energy standard, or be electric.
• * We could prohibit new public buildings from being built in areas prone to sea level rise.
• * We could require all airlines landing in Hawaii to be “carbon neutral” via a carbon tax and/or a TAT surcharge, used to manage and restore our watersheds.
• * We could gradually raise Hawaii’s minimum wage so it eventually reaches a living wage.
• * We could publicly fund all elections and drastically improve campaign spending laws.
• We could require all paid lobbyists to state that fact every time they submit testimony.
• * We could pay our teachers more, decrease class size and increase technology in our schools.
• * We could fund “Housing First” programs instead of $350,000,000 for a new stadium.
• We could make a true commitment to ending homelessness and invest not just in new shelters and housing but also in the training and hiring of a new generation of social workers and mental health professionals.

There is so much more we can do…but, we need you.

We really, really need you.

First published on May 22, 2019 in The Garden Island Newspaper

45 years ago I fell in love with and married a beautiful young South African girl by the name of Claudette Comrie. We had met just months before in front of the Moana Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki as she was literally just getting off the bus coming from the airport on her first ever trip to Hawaii. My occupation at the time was operating a pedicab in Waikiki, peddling tourists around, showing them the various sites and in general acting as a local tour guide.

It was early evening and I was waiting in front of the hotel soliciting rides from the arriving travelers when she disembarked from the bus.

While her first response to my pedicab ride solicitation was an emphatic “no”, later in the evening when by chance I ran into her again and asked her a second time, she said “maybe later”.

As the reader of this missive has by now figured out “later” came soon enough, my lovely South African bride-to-be climbed onto my humble pedicab, I took her on a tour of Waikiki, we had a whirlwind romance, and the rest as they say is history.

Neither of us of course knew what the future would hold. We had known each other for less than 6 months when we were married in Durban’s Old Fort Chapel and then returned to Hawaii and Kauai after spending several months backpacking around Southern Europe and Israel.

The past 45 years has been an exhilarating ride. Though there have been ups and downs and occasionally times of great stress, our life journey has truly been extraordinary.

We have two incredible children both of whom have married exceptional partners and four beautiful grandchildren.  

We have traveled the world and experienced places and events many only read and dream about. Fortunately for me that story about Claudette, an employee of South African Airways at the time, wearing a t-shirt that said “Marry me and fly free” while mostly a figment of my imagination…continues to ring true!

We are both technically “retired” now. My work in public service over the years has been and continues to be incredibly fulfilling. Claudette I know is also greatly enjoying her retirement from United Airlines – doing all manner of things she enjoys – around the yard, in her “she shed” and with her “walking friends”.

While 45 years seems like a very long time ago, at this particular moment it seems like only yesterday that I was smitten by that beautiful young girl with a funny accent getting off the bus in Waikiki.

*If you wonder what happened next, what brought us to Kauai and more – you can read the next chapter: Another Hooser Fun Fact (you will catch the pun later)

**AND if you are really interested in where I came from and what I was doing BEFORE I started driving the pedicab here is the story… it all started in Weedpatch.