Most folks say they hope for peace on Earth, especially during this Christmas season when that message is loud and clear. ADVERTISING Most folks say they hope for peace on Earth, especially during this Christmas season when that message is
Most folks say they hope for peace on Earth, especially during this Christmas season when that message is loud and clear.
Most folks also wish for a happy New Year.
Why, then, do we have the many conflicts occurring today?
It seems the answer is too complicated to ever understand. Just about the time I gave up trying to figure out why this is such a crazy world, a teenager walked by with a T-shirt that said “One People…. One Planet”.
Like a prayer answered, it dawned on me the big problem is that we constantly see ourselves as separate from others. We are the “Us group” and everyone else a “them.” As long as we create this isolation in our minds, we are susceptible to getting caught up in conflicts, even wars, because of this duplicity.
The problem is separating ourselves from others by skin shade, eye or hair color, religion, culture, philosophy, sex, geographical origin or whatever. It’s not a matter of saying we are all the same, but recognizing our diversity and appreciating our differences.
To really simplify what appears to be complicated, we can take the message of Jesus or, for that matter, the Beattles — “all we need is love”
The world’s great religions place loving our Creator and His/Her works. There are those who distort the message for political, economic, power or control purposes in the name of our Creator. Some place themselves and their group above others and this creates conflict.
The question is, “Can we have ethnicity without ethnocentricity?”
Can we appreciate that we are unique without putting down someone else.
It is so easy to fall into the “Us and them” mode of thinking that it takes constant mental pushups to see all humans as connected. We might even expand that connection to all living things. One way to practice is by noting our attitudes about other inhabitants of our global ecosystem.
For example, let’s take a look at our beautiful Hawaiian gardens. They are composed of plants from all over the world. Some of these plants arrived long ago, transported by ocean currents, winds and birds. Hundreds of varieties were brought here by the first human inhabitants. These include kukui, coconut, ti, breadfruit, banana, sweet potato and many others. Later, each group of humans brought the plants associated with their culture.
Unfortunately, all the plants introduced by humans now are being called alien species. Oops, it’s “Us and them” again!
In the past, they were referred to as canoe plants, non-native or exotic. The term alien is one charged with negative connotations, with visions of pestiferous and otherwise uninvited crawlies. When the term is associated with humans, we almost automatically add “illegal” to create another negative picture.
When we describe plants or animals as alien species, we might incorrectly think of aliens only as pest species. However, every life-form on our island is alien if one goes back far enough. Even what we call a weed could be referred to as a pioneer species trying to heal the wounds created by mismanagement.
In the big picture, all plants are reducing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and are sequestering carbon.
Of course, it is essential to protect that which is unique to Hawaii, but simply labeling life-forms as native versus alien and then to infer one is good and thus the other must be bad is a disservice to all. Our gardens give us opportunity to do our mental pushups and acknowledge the value of each of the diverse life forms.
When I was about 9 years old, my grandmother told me a weed is only a plant for which we haven’t found a use. She also used to say God created everything and that it was all good. It is up to us to figure out what that good is!
Many of the plants and animals introduced to Hawaii throughout the years are rare and perhaps even near extinction in the wilds from which they came. Some that we consider weeds have been used by older cultures as healing herbs. For example, many plants and birds we consider common here are no longer found in their place of origin because of destruction of habitat. I have traveled all over South America and never seen a Brazilian cardinal there. Most of the parrots we find in Hawaii are either threatened or endangered in their native lands.
When it comes to plants, the Royal Poinciana, Delonix regia, also known as the Flame Tree or Flamboyant, can be found in tropical gardens world wide, but in its own native habitat of Madagascar it is extremely rare in the wild.
A palm of considerable popularity in Kona, the Cabada Palm, is thought to be extinct in the wild but also was a plant possibly from Madagascar. Australia’s Carpentaria Palm was thought to be extinct for more than 100 years and then was rediscovered in a private garden in Darwin. It now graces many Hawaiian landscapes.
So, to label plants as native and alien is to oversimplify a very complex global ecosystem.
To infer that plants or animals are good or bad is dangerous. These are moral judgements. These terms are appropriate in relationship to how we manage and interact with the other living things around us.
Yes, there have been plants introduced, many accidentally, that have had a negative impact on other life-forms in a given environment. But for every negative impact, there are likely many positive ones. Many life-forms we consider special to Hawaiiana are not from here at all. Our loveable geckos and the popular pikake, hibiscus anthurium, Kona coffee and plumeria that brighten our lives are aliens if we choose that description.
When the first humans arrived in Hawaii, these islands had a very different ecosystem than in 1790 or today.
There were few plants or animals that could help humans survive. The forests were rich with Loulu palms (Pritchardia species). It wasn’t long before the introduced pigs and rats devoured their seed so the palms could no longer propagate without the help of humans.
Most non-native plants introduced purposely have benefited man.
With diversified agriculture essential for our economic survival, it is important we don’t hamstring ourselves so we are unable to grow a crop that is of benefit to our community and economy by maligning all non-native species. Our responsibility is to recognize our community includes many other life-forms, most of which are unique and need our special protection, and at the same time recognize the need for non-native species, including those introduced by the Polynesians and other ethnic groups.
The message for our future is that it is time for all members of our island community, including environmental groups, agricultural interests, the visitor industry and others, to work together on plans that focus on good management of our resources.
It is not a time to be confrontational.
We can learn to manage our polarities if we can shift out of the “Us and them” patterns of thinking.
There is a lesson to be learned in how we treat all the varied life-forms in our island gardens. Maybe if we learn that lesson, we will treat one another better!
It is the essence of aloha.
My New Year’s resolution is to attempt to see the good in all things and in all people.
It is worth a try!
The Tropical Gardening column is provided by the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
