Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of The Perfect Wave: The Hawaiian Independence Movement Gains Momentum

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's statehood, I went down to the beach at Waikiki and witnessed a lovely evening fireworks display. Only thing is, the fireworks didn't have anything to do with the anniversary -- it's something my hotel does every Friday night for the tourists. At least in Oahu, there wasn't much of anything else going on to commemorate the historic anniversary, either. A '50s nostalgia concert starring the Platters, the Coasters and the Drifters, or imitations thereof. A conference at the Hawaii Convention Center. A march and rally for Hawaiian independence.

Wait a minute, I said to myself as I read that last one in the Honolulu Advertiser. I thought Texas was the only state that wanted to secede from the Union. Why would Hawaii want out?
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But the pieces started to fall into place when we went to 'Iolani Palace, built by King Kalakaua in 1882 when Hawaii -- the only state to have ever been a legitimate, globally recognized kingdom -- was still a sovereign nation. A decade later, his successor, Queen Lili'uokalani, was forced by an American-led faction to relinquish the monarchy and was placed under house arrest there. Restored to something approaching its 19th century glory in the late '70s, the palace is now a major tourist attraction -- and a gathering place for Hawaii's many independence groups. We weren't shocked by the unabashedly pro-royal tone of the palace's audio tour. After all, the royals are the place's big selling point. But the final audio segment, in which "Prince" David Kawananakoa (a descendant of the Hawaiian royal family) advocates Hawaiian sovereignty, made us prick up our ears.

It turns out that the independence movement isn't just a nutty gambit to avoid paying federal taxes, the way it is in Texas. The Hawaiians, especially those who can trace their ancestry back to the time when Captain James Cook "discovered" the islands, have some pretty legit grievances. ...