A Uniter, Not a Divider

Prefatory remark: I disagree with most of Barack Obama’s domestic policy prescriptions, and I have strong doubts about his readiness and willingness to defend the nation as Commander-in-Chief, but….

I can’t escape the emotional impact of seeing a Hawaiian “local boy” stand on the cusp of being the most powerful man in the world. It’s not exactly pride but more like surprise, gratitude, and even joy.

It’s hard to ignore the call of the clan, and Hawaiian society is among the most tribal and insular (pun intended) in the United States. If you don’t know someone personally, it’s likely you know her nephew or his uncle (I can’t tell you how often I find when visiting Hawaii that I’m related to someone that I just met). And the tribe came together yesterday in a record turnout at the Democratic caucus to vote for their favorite son.

Upon meeting a fellow Hawaiian, nearly the first question one is asked is “Which high school did you go to?” And so a word about the school that both Senator Obama and I were fortunate to attend, albeit nearly a decade apart.

Punahou School was founded by New England missionaries in 1841. For nearly a century it was a school of privilege, and very few non-whites attended. Punahou threw open its doors to all races after the Second World War, but attending the “haole” school was something one kept quiet through the Seventies because its students were generally (mis)perceived to be rich and stuck up.

One benefit that our education did confer upon me and my classmates---and obviously Barack Obama---is that it excised the kanaka (pidgin) twang from our speech. I don’t attribute this result to drilling and repetition but to immersion in an environment where correct English is spoken every day. All Punahou graduates are able to pass the “telephone test”* in which the listener cannot divine the race and/or Hawaiian origin of the speaker. (Of course, we could revert defensively to pidgin in social situations.)

Barack Obama’s resume has been criticized for being a little light, but here’s one significant accomplishment: Hawaiian society has come to love a Punahou graduate!

[*Political commentary: non-white politicians who are aspiring to a national office---think of Colin Powell, Bill Richardson, and Linda Chavez as examples---must also pass the telephone test.] © 2008 Stephen Yuen