POIPU, HAWAII – By the time you read this, I will have left Kauai, where I’ve spent the past two weeks.

It’s been mostly terrific. Because I love Hawaii. Especially this island, Kauai.

We’ve been very lucky – almost lottery-quality lucky. The three other main islands – Oahu, Maui and Hawaii – were inundated by rain in what’s called Kona Storms. Parts of the other islands remain underwater. People needed to be evacuated from homes, roads flooded. Miraculously, and thankfully, there is no official death toll attributed to the storms.

Here on Kauai, we got a lot of rain right after we arrived two weeks ago – 6.5 inches at the airport where we landed. We spent the first two days of our vacation cooped in our room.

But it stopped raining early last week and, for the final days of our trip, we got what we came for – sunshine, warmth, a chance to wander around the Garden Island.

Hawaii and Kauai, when they are like they’ve been this week, are glorious.

Yes, there’s the weather and the Pacific Ocean.  The lush greenery. The best seafood anywhere. The magnificent sunrises and sunsets.

Hawaii, though, is glorious for what it represents; the incredible diversity of the United States of America.

It is the crossing point for so much of the human race. Starting with the Polynesians, who settled on the uninhabited islands in the first millennium and lived perfectly well until the late 18th century. 

That’s when the British came. They didn’t expect to find the islands, but once they did, they liked what they saw. They enjoyed the food, the pearls and the young women. They gave back guns and diseases. 

The Russians came here, too. So did the Japanese and Chinese. 

And, of course, the Americans. 

I’ve spent much of early 2026 reading history about Americans and their attitudes toward indigenous people, both in North America and beyond. They weren’t much into sharing, or abiding by agreements. I think that’s what Trump sees as America’s greatness, aka double dealing. The islands ended up belonging to us.

In 1960, Hawaii became the 50th state. We haven’t added any since. 

When you come to Hawaii, you notice two things about people. One is that the folks who stay in hotels and resorts tend to be overwhelmingly Caucasian. Certainly more so than home in New York.

The other thing is that the people who actually live and work here are overwhelmingly not Caucasian. They’re an incredible mix of native Hawaiian, Asian, Hispanic and everyone else you can imagine. 

With all that difference, you might expect conflict. Nah!

I have not seen hot tempers or a lot of rudeness. I’m sure the folks who live here could tell me stories. But, for the most part, everyone says “Aloha” to each other and smiles. It seems as genuine as a casual encounter can be.

Amid that placidity is what’s around us – a turbulent ocean. The waves make a lot of noise. They spray and splash and crash and thunder on the lava rocks and the sandy beaches. It’s choppy and looks especially daunting to those of us who live near more tranquil waters.

It’s a lot like the world we live in.

There’s a lot of churn out there. There’s a lot that can get in the way of our happiness. Rogue waves after a tsunami. The flooding you can expect from 24 inches of rain in three days. A brutal sun that burns skin a little faster than in northern climates.

And yet, working together, we solve it.

We get on surfboards (actually, they get on surfboards, I’m not going near one). Then we ride the waves, crash out eventually, and go back out and do it again and again.

The magnificent music created by the slack key guitar and ukelele ease the mind and reach deep into the soul. You could float a tanker with all the sunscreen for sale.

People wear loud shirts and dresses, forget what socks are, read and walk and dream. 

Hawaii is what America should be. It’s impressive that it actually is part of America, because except for the flags and the occasional post office, it often seems like another world.

That’s not to everyone’s liking. There are bumper stickers and graffiti saying “Hawaii is not America.” And the Americanization that has taken place is scary enough to some people that a song on Bad Bunny’s Grammy-winning album warns Puerto Ricans against suffering the same fate.

So let’s work it out. Let’s find a way to make sure Hawaiians and every other American can be their true self and enjoy the pursuit of happiness promised in the Declaration of Independence nearly 250 years ago.

Let’s welcome those who aspire to be us, who want to contribute to a great national effort toward the more perfect union sought by the Constitution. No one – no one! – is “an illegal.”

Let’s solve our real problems amid the stormy seas around us – climate change, equality, economic justice. Let’s explore and question and tolerate and enjoy.

That’s what I see on the beach here on Kauai. I know when you read this I’ll be back among the maelstrom we’ve been experiencing all year – hell, ever since Trump went down the escalator.

But, for now, I’m going to enjoy it – and wish fervently that you and your loved ones get to enjoy it again as well.