A Broken Political Culture?

During the recent election season, an essential part of Ed Case’s campaign to unseat Sen. Dan Akaka was the following: “The political culture of Hawaii is broken.”

This often-repeated statement seemed to resonate with a significant number of voters, while others wondered what it meant. I took it as a set of code words, much in the same vein as cries about “The Machine” and “The Old Boy Network.” The contention of brokenness suggested we had gone badly awry—that we had frittered away our post-statehood political heritage. It conjured a substantially undemocratic society run by a handful of mostly unseen people.

Obviously, I am more than a little interested in this subject, having served in public office for 32 years. Through this column, I have often attempted to address the current political climate. I have been critical of certain current trends, but I hardly buy the contention that we are “broken.” I would instead argue that we are struggling for renewal of our political culture within a context of openness begun in the 1950s.

The theme of my predecessor John A. Burns’ administration was “The Open Society.” This was a celebration of Hawaii’s self-government after 61 years in a territorial status. As Burns’ successor, I was concerned with expanding the workings of an open society. I constantly involved and sought to nurture the empowerment of everyone in the community.

Perhaps the most important development of the period was the cultural and political reawakening of Native Hawaiians. In that context, I brought Dan Akaka from the Department of Education into my office. He subsequently ran for Congress and won. Thereafter, in election after election, Akaka has been returned to Washington, D.C.

In his “broken” argument, Case suggested that Akaka was overly liberal, out of the mainstream and therefore out of touch with Hawaii. This contention echoed in the general election, as well. The reporters covering Case seemed to blindly buy into this contention without going beyond the catch phrases. When the subject came up in the media, Case was described over and over as a “moderate,” leaving unanswered the implied suggestion that Akaka was not.

In retrospect it seems clear that part of the reason Akaka won so handily was the Iraq War. During the past four years, he was one of the few United States senators who courageously refused to give the national administration a blank check on the war. When he first took this stand, he incurred the wrath of political figures, who then were riding high. Was it moderate to support the war, or immoderate to oppose it? The election results say—no!

We need to be wary of catch phrases and simplistic labels. Akaka is a unique result of Hawaii. He is open to one and all. Whether you’re acquainted with him or not, he will acknowledge and affirm you. He will listen. He is comfortable within himself. He is the real thing.

In terms of leadership lessons, I would put that quality at the top of the list. Authenticity is what an open society enables—being ourselves, being honest with ourselves and others, and engaging in give and take.

The real divide today at both the local and national levels is between those who support an open, inquiring political culture versus those who seek merely to manipulate the political culture.

But that is another story. More on this next month.

George R. Ariyoshi, chairman and cofounder of Convergence CT and Cellular Bioengineering, is the former president of Prince Resorts Hawaii Inc. He is active in international business circles, particularly in Asia. An attorney by profession, Ariyoshi served in elective office in Hawaii from 1954 to 1986. He served as governor of Hawaii from 1973 to 1986 and was the first Japanese American to be elected governor in the United States.

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