In the year of our lord 1897, between September eleventh and October second, two groups collected petition signatures at public meetings held on each of the five principal islands of Hawaii. "The Hui Aloha 'Aina (translated in English as the Hawaiian Patriotic League) presented a "Petition Against Annexation", written in both the English and Hawaiian languages, to the fifty fifth congress of the United States of America. It had the written support of 21,269 native Hawaiian people out of a total population of 39,000 native population and mixed-blood persons reported by the Hawaiian Commission census for that same year." (This information comes from the website archives.gov if you would like to learn more.)
Queen Lili'uokalani met with four of her delegates on December sixth with the 556 page petition in hand before the second session of the fifty fifth congress in Washington D.C. Despite their efforts to lobby for independence, it was not in the political interest of the United States to release this island chain or her inhabitants from being a territory under the control of a former colonial possession that had fought for their own independence only a little over a century earlier.
The islands of Hawaii were just one more acquisition, in a long line of territories pilfered from the native inhabitants of the North American Continent. Great Britain and other European nation-states had conquered much of the northern and southern hemisphere by the end of the eighteenth century. The colonial influence of the British empire was so extensive that it could boast that the sun never sat on its dominion.
Even after countless revolutions for independence, many of the former colonies continued to pay homage to the British monarch. However, America as the United States called their nation, had adopted a free enterprise system that stressed the importance of property ownership. Everyone was promised a piece of land, for a price. By everyone, I mean white males of mostly European descent. In time, this privilege to own property became more diverse in race and gender.
By the time of Queen Lili'uokalani's petition the United States had granted such freedom to other races, and even women, but history had other plans for this island chain.
Today this concept of land ownership goes by a different name. It is called real-estate. Some years ago as I was arriving over England, I looked down from my plane window to enjoy the view. As we descended, I noticed the beautiful open fields of color. It looked like a patchwork quilt of yellows and various green shades. These were known as the Queen's protected lands.
As I looked down, all I could think was, back home this would be called available real-estate. The States had no monarch to protect its land holdings. Instead we had a President who served as more of a businessman who oversees a nation of state senators, who in turn oversee their respective districts, as the merchants of their respective districts divi up property, for a cost. The U.S. Government in turn gets their cut through land taxation, among other taxes. This free enterprise (or should I say tax enterprise) system has created our current global economic system.
Ownership of available land and the subsequent taxation of such land, is the engine that drives our modern societies. Without this driving force our national economies would collapse.
Finding a viable alternative to this monetary system is no easy task. Even with the best of intentions, there appears to be something within us that undermines a peaceful, equitable, fair, and benevolent solution. We consistently dominate our domain. Until we figure out what is behind this self destructive behavior, this vicious cycle will continue to blight our world. Like the ancient mythical king Midas, everything we touch seems to turn to death, in our quest for gold (which usually comes to us in the form of an IOU that we call money). This Midas-like effect is never more apparent than in how we treat our fellow humans.
In previous centuries humans were trafficked by other humans as personal property, along with animals, and pretty much anything. Today, things are not as different as we might imagine. In reality, human trafficking has continued in less obvious ways, but the practice continues in one way or another. This insatiable craving for more has contributed to our current world crisis. Climate is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Exploitation is the name of the game. On the next page the invasive nature of humanity will be our focus.
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