Molokai has a destiny much greater than any individual or company.

Molokai has a unique purpose and an important role to play not only locally but also globally.

As the foundation of this island was laid so too was the PONO of this 'aina aloha. Pono in one sense, is the balanced relationship between Akua (God), Honua (earth/land) and Kanaka (man). When the people of Moloka'i moved away from this pono, Hina would call forth heavy winds to remind them of their kuleana to the land.

Throughout history and in modern times we have seen Moloka'i protect her own. We hear mo'olelo of how the people of old would stay on shore and pule as war canoes would come from other islands. And as they prayed the ocean would rise up and swallow those whose intention was to harm Moloka'i.

There are some among us, from both sides of this issue, who stood on shore and prayed and watched with chicken skin as the waves rose up and kept cruise ships out.

If you look back through the past thirty years or so, you will see that there have been a long line of companies and businesses that have come to Moloka'i with their own agendas to make money off our land and resources. In each case, these companies have collapsed. You can blame the activists, or the economy or a number of other things but the bottom line is that these companies failed because they were not PONO.

The closure of the Molokai Ranch is the most recent example of a business collapsing due to its lack of PONO. You cannot pretend pono (which is what the ranch tried to do for the past three years). The people of Molokai and the island herself cannot be fooled.

Let us move past anger and blame so that we can find PONO once again as our ancestors did.

It is time for each of us to examine our selves and our own actions. It is time to set things right, to ho'oponopono our own hearts, our families and our community. To heal the divide among us and come together as one ohana. In this way we can restore the PONO of our Kupuna and the land can once again flourish.

Aloha Moloka'i Nui A Hina, Moloka'i 'Aina Momona, Moloka'i Pule 'O'o, Molokai No Ka Heke.

E Ola Pono Mau Keia Kama A Hina .