The Aloha of Obama: The gift of growing up in Hawaii

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The love and nurturing Barack Obama received from his family and the very special place that Hawaii is, have deeply shaped his core values and developed his worldview into one that is honoring and inclusive of all people, and can't help but be reflected in the many leadership choices he will have to make.

Obama speaks about Hawaii's effect on his upbringing in Philip Rucker's article Hawaii's Still Waters Run Deep for the President-Elect, at www.washington post.com.

"No place else could have provided me with the environment, the climate, in which I could not only grow but also get a sense of being loved," he said. "There is no doubt that the residue of Hawaii will always stay with me, and that it is a part of my core, and that what's best in me, and what's best in my message, is consistent with the tradition of Hawaii."

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Obama is not simply African-American or "hapa," in the local vernacular. He is also a child of Hawaii, or "keiki o ka 'aina", meaning "child of the land." Hawaii is a melting pot, a shining example of how different races can coexist in harmony. Here, the descendants of immigrants from Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and the far reaches of Polynesia have merged worlds with Native born Hawaiians and Mainland Americans who have adopted the islands as home, creating a land of beautiful hapa offspring, not only mixing races, but language, food and culture.

In an article titled, "Obama Says America Looking for Aloha Spirit," by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Barack Obama speaks of this search.

"I try to explain to them about the aloha spirit," Obama said. "And it's that spirit that I am absolutely convinced is what America is looking for right now."

"That we look out for one another. That we deal with each other with courtesy and respect. And most important when you come from Hawai'i that you start to understand what's on the surface, what people look like, that doesn't determine who they are."

He went on to say that "the power and strength of the person, the ability of people from everywhere whether they're Black or White, whether they're Japanese - Americans or Korean-Americans or Filipino-Americans or whatever they are - they're just Americans. And that all of us can work together, all of us can join together to create a better country."

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"It's about time that we have somebody who has a heart, who is a "keiki o ka 'äina," said U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, the author of the federal Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act,.also known as the Akaka Bill, which seeks federal recognition of Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people, similar to the status given American Indians and Native Alaskans. This quote is from "Obama Says America Looking for Aloha Spirit," by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Even though Hawaii's socioeconomic climate is far from a utopia, its complexity and diversity are great gifts for a reflective future leader. Hawaii is cosmopolitan, a blending of nations, more akin to other Polynesian regions than it's sister states which are connected by highways .

"To grow up in Hawaii is to see the United States from the inside and the outside," states Kevin C. Murphy in his article "The Aloha of Obama." It is also to see the two sides of Hawaii, the haves, who are fortunate to create their island paradises and the have-nots, who are often Native Hawaiians who lack the means for empowerment in a culture that was forced upon them and now erupts in disappointment, lost opportunities and social disintegration through drug influence.

Serge King defines Aloha as "the joyful sharing of life energy in the present."
He wrote a small book on Aloha, first published in 1975 for free distribution, known by two titles; "The Aloha Spirit" and "The Little Pink Booklet of Aloha." In it, he reveals why Aloha was an extremely important lesson to teach to children because it taught them how much a part of the world they were.

"Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!"

The Little Pink Booklet of Aloha has been translated into over a dozen languages is still freely available online. Enjoy!

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Obama's Presidency means that the world will have a positive public role model of what a healthy relationship between a man and a woman looks like, and sounds like. Barack and Michelle Obama genuinely express their love for each other in their respectful speech, playful humor, and demonstrations of affection. Obama's tenderness and affection for his daughters can send a positive message to parents everywhere, that even with the weight of huge responsibility, quality time for family must remain a high priority in a healthy society.

The new first couple offers America an example of a black, passionate, marital relationship, says Jennifer Brea, a writer for EbonyJet.com.

"They are the most natural and accessible first couple this country has ever had," Brea says. "You see a politician give a peck on his wife's cheek after a speech and often it looks staged. When you look at them, you feel like that there's this chemistry and spark."