Manifesto on the Importance of Children

In traditional Hawaiian culture, children are considered sacred. There is no such thing as an unwanted child. If a child is abandoned or neglected, another will step up to claim them. Such is the way life works when you believe that all people are connected in one big 'ohana, family. Many other cultures hold similar beliefs about the virtues of brotherhood and common ancestry, but much of these virtues seem to have vanished in modern times.

Children are sacred, as they should be. After all, they are the future, and without them life would hold less meaning. It would simply be some meaningless march to the end of existence. We need them. They carry on the ways of humans, the languages and cultures of those around them. But they also shape the future too. They are not meant to be perfect, nor are they meant to mindlessly replicate and reproduce the past and their "culture." They are sacred because they challenge us. They challenge us to live up to the great responsibility of raising a child, of nurturing a new life, and they challenge us all to be the positive role models they need as they begin to influence and shape our world. They challenge us to be better people and to reassess our own choices. These children also challenge us to see the world from a new perspective, one of intense clarity and innocence. One focused on the future, not the past. They change us, yet it is our choice to change.

Still, today many do not treat these children as the sacred entities they are. They reject their responsibility, refuse to change, and remain blind to the future the children represent. Without the nurturing 'ohana they were intended for, they create their own, amongst the other neglected children. They find solace in gangs, the 'ohana of the neglected, and assert their sacredness through acts of power and defiance. They still shape the future; they still are the future. But not the future we, as adults, are meant to cultivate.

Our 'ohana is breaking in modern society. Not always is it the fault of the parents who find themselves ill-equipped and ill-prepared to care for our future, often due to many reasons beyond their control. Still, unlike in the Hawaiian tradition, no one else is standing up to come to their aid. Capable people refuse to claim the abandoned children, ignore the call for the "aunties" and "uncles" to help the parents in need. To each his own, the American way, leaving our children behind, our future deformed.

To repair our future, we must repair our 'ohana. We must treat our children as sacred. One needs not be a parent to take a role in cultivating our future. There is a need for the aunties and uncles to step up and nurture the children as well. This must be a priority. Not just for the government, but for all Americans. The education, cultivation, and respect of the children of our 'ohana impacts everything. It impacts the economy, foreign policy, crime rates, and all the other issues politicians concern themselves over in a way that no piece of legislation or policy passed today ever can. The impact is deep and long-lasting. The impact is profound and rewarding. To do so requires the sort of patience and teamwork the Hawaiians have valued for centuries.

Together we can claim the abandoned children and rebuild our 'ohana so that the future looks bright again.

I look forward to accepting my responsibility as father. To changing and learning, to nurturing and respecting. For now, I play my part as a teacher. Indeed this is a major reason why I teach. I know that alone I cannot accomplish much, I cannot rescue our future or change the world. I can only do my part to serve the greater 'ohana, and that is all any of us can do. And I hope that by my example I can inspire others to do the same.