Today, rather than the three entries I have made every day since the blog started, I am only making two and only one of them has any substance. 

I am breaking with the tradition because the video on the Last Queen of Hawaii is 53 minutes long and I really can't expect you to devote more time than that to my blog on any given day, can I?

I stumbled onto the video and was shocked when I watched it and learned how Hawaii became a part of the United States.   It took that video to bring to the forefront of my mind something I know deep down but tend to shove to the side from time-to-time; just because we believe that the United States is the best of all worlds does not mean that it is remotely close to the best of all worlds for anyone or everyone else. 

I have been to Hawaii many times and I have visited and toured 'Iolani Palace and I have read about Queen 
Lili`uokalani but I obviously got both the sanitized tour and the sanitized booklet. 

I know change is inevitable and I know that as we move forward a lot of traditions and ways of life will die, however I prefer to believe that progress can always be made without the use of gatling guns and bayonets.  

Maybe you knew the circumstances of Hawaii's annexation but if not, I invite you to watch the video.

Aloha.