The journey of the early Hawaiians navigating skillfully by the stars over thousands of miles of uncharted ocean, culminating centuries later with their knowledge advanced by an observatory deservedly placed on magnificent Mauna Kea, which welcomed them home, will be one of the most poignant and powerful stories ever told. Details of the cultural, educational and economic benefits are well written in the We Support TMT petition (gopetition.com) submitted by Mailani Neal, a brave, intelligent 18-year-old Hawaii Preparatory Academy senior.
The Thirty Meter Telescope is a major advancement in astronomy, able to see forming galaxies near the beginning of time, but it has lately become controversial by those who are sensitive to their culture and feel this is a desecration, and others who believe it’s a natural and worthy progression to honoring and enhancing the accomplishments of their ancestors.
Many of us hold beliefs we feel are sacred, and we are very protective of them, wanting them respected by others as we respect theirs. There is no need for science, culture and religion to be mutually exclusive. We need both. If we live only for science, we lose the beauty of the sacred that gives us our conscience. If we live only for the sacred, we lose knowledge of this precious world.
The TMT project coordinators are sensitive to these concerns and have worked closely with the community to assure the intertwining of science and culture. Instead of fearing that knowledge of Pele and Poliahu will eventually be lost, it will be respectfully shared among visitors eager to learn more. Religions and legends have endured for centuries through greater challenges than the building of an observatory.
There is also the objection that the 180-foot-tall structure will be a visual blight and that it intrudes on sacred cultural sites. It will be big, it has a big job to do. Out of respect for these concerns, a site was agreed upon by all invested parties to be located 600 feet below the summit in a remote area devoid of cultural and historical significance, and where no iwi are buried.
Unfortunately, protesters are putting the TMT in danger of being stopped by resorting to such tactics as blocking the construction trucks on the Mauna Kea summit road maintained by the observatories. And to those who have been harassing and intimidating the TMT supporters, that’s shameful and cowardly. Stop it. Retribution should never be a consequence of the desire for knowledge. No one, no matter how they try to justify it, has the right to slam the lid on knowledge.
I read with dismay the list of celebrities supporting the We Are Mauna Kea Aole TMT movement. In the interest of balance, I would like to submit a list, although I haven’t personally spoken with any of them, of those well-known and highly-respected people in the advancement of astronomy who would possibly favor the TMT: Copernicus, Galileo, DaVinci, Newton, King Kalakaua, Carl Sagan, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, and the courageous early Polynesian explorer navigators. The list is getting lengthy, but oh, what the heck, I think there’s room for one more: Einstein.
By continuing to oppose the TMT you’re saying that you want to deprive employment opportunities for local workers involved in the construction and maintenance of the observatory, deny the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Office of Mauna Kea Management hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, with the amount increasing as construction progresses, reject over $1 million a year to Hawaii Island schools, educators and students for STEM and other worthy projects, and continue the sad acceptance of our families broken apart as our children and grandchildren leave Hawaii for more challenging, better paying jobs elsewhere.
You’d be proving that finalized agreements can be broken. After seven years of thoroughly and conscientiously accommodating and complying with all the legal, environmental, cultural and business concerns and requirements, work can be brought to a screeching halt. Trust will be shattered. High-technology companies looking to establish in Hawaii will see what the TMT project is going through and decide they’d be nuts to locate here, further dooming our economy to tourism and the construction of luxury high rises.
You’d be preventing the opportunity to place Mauna Kea as the crown jewel in astronomy, denying knowledge people for centuries have wondered about and only dreamed of eventually understanding.
Now is the time to unlock the mysteries. This has worldwide significance, not just for the present but for our children’s children’s children. Please don’t let us be the ones Puck was referring to when he said, “Oh what fools these mortals be.”
Depending on the outcome of this TMT debate, we will either be the leaders of the scientific world or the laughing stock. Choose your druthers, because it will definitely be one or the other.
One of the first things we’re taught as toddlers is play nice and share.
It’s time.
Imua TMT
Linda Hunter is a resident of Honokaa.
Viewpoint articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of West Hawaii Today.