Mahalo For States' Rights

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Mahalo For States' Rights

Andrew Johnson · October 4, 2011 at 4:59am

My Hawaiian is a little rusty, but the title of this post is meant to show my gratitude for states' rights instead of a centralized federal government.

The Associated Press is reporting that "Hawaii will soon become the first state in the nation to call surfing an official high school sport."

Gov. Neil Abercrombie and state education officials said Monday that riding the waves will join the likes of football, basketball, volleyball and swimming as a state-sanctioned prep sport in public schools, starting as early as spring 2013.
“It’s quite clear, when you think of Hawaii, you think of surfing,” Abercrombie said with a scenic backdrop of sunbathers and surfers along Waikiki beach behind him. The news conference was held near the statue of island icon Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic gold medal swimmer known as the father of modern surfing.

Regardless of how you feel about the decision itself, from a financial standpoint or your resentment towards surfing ever since the embarrassment of not being able to stand on the board at the last family vacation, this is why it is important to maintain states' rights.

This decision reflects a "culture and way of life" unique to the Aloha State, one that might only take place if these types of decisions can be made by statewide or local education officials. Imagine if residents of Honolulu had to get approval from the Department of Education in Washington DC to do something like this. Not only would it drag on and on, but it might result in a huge wipeout if bureaucrats from inside the Beltway failed to recognize its significance to Oahu or just decided it was too unnecessary to permit.

Our Founding Fathers, who almost certainly never dreamed of Hawaii's inclusion into the Union, believed in local government, that a community should govern itself because it knows what's best for its citizens. From sea to shining sea, and even across one, the states represent specific communities, and affairs within them should be decided on by representatives in their best interests, whether its a curriculum, taxes, or any other policy.

This is only a small anecdote of states still having a say over what goes on within their borders rather than being forced to defer to the big Kahunas in DC, but a reminder that makes me smile nonetheless. Hopefully states will actively start catching this wave again so that we're not just Hanging Ten, but Fifty.