This Friday is Hawaii Statehood day. It is the day that Hawaiians celebrate becoming the 50th state in our country. The declaration took place in 1959 and has been celebrated since 1969 on the third Friday in August. Hawaii’s entrance into the union is still a controversial topic for many Hawaiians, with many fighting for Hawaii to regain its sovereignty. It got me thinking about opposing sides and that we seem to be missing is ‘olu’olu (pronounced “oh-loo oh-loo”) or courtesy to each other.

In general these days, there seems to be a lack of ‘olu’olu for people on opposing sides of any issue. It always resorts to name calling or extremely hurtful insults or even lies. We’ve seen in recent history that the missing ‘olu’olu divides communities, neighbors, and a nation. Whichever group that we side with on a particular issue, we should show ‘olu’olu to the opposition. After all, don’t diverse opinions help make the world a richer place?

How do you show ‘olu’olu to someone you may not agree with?

(The amount of ‘olu’olu being shown as part of the tragic wildfires in Maui warms my heart. If you are able, please consider helping our Maui ohana by making a donation for relief. You can find verified organizations taking donations on our blog post from earlier this week on the tragedy.)

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Olelo

She Lives Aloha

“Every day should be Aloha Friday.”