No Island is an Island

The mistaken button-push was a reminder how the world impinges on the Island State.

that sense of remove is shifting, as Hawaii plays a more central role in political brawls that put it in the spotlight. Last year, Hawaii’s attorney general successfully sued to block President Donald Trump’s first travel ban. Now come the regular missile siren tests.

Hawaii's geographic situation has provided no protection from history. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) precipitated the American entrance to World War II, and, of course, Hawaii's annexation (1898) by the United States represents the ultimate intrusion. Strike that last sentence; a nuclear missile would be worse.