This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issue of Maui Vision Magazine.
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy…We must be cautious. – Obe Wan Kanobe
It was not in a galaxy far away, but in this county – far from the biotech hive – where the rebel alliance struck. The Maui Jedi warriors have been trained to work with the Force, to feel the mana of the land, to respect the aina. The Hawaiian warriors learned from their ancestors the many ways the capitalist/industrial food system disempowers and destroys.
The empire never knew what hit them. It was a blinding strike against the 200-year-old missionary monoculture that eradicated a rich, diverse Hawaiian polyculture that had thrived in Hawaii for a thousand years.
The rebel alliance could have been put together over drinks at the Star Wars cantina; the team came from around the galaxy. It was an improbable group, early dismissed as a ‘north shore local uprising’ of the haole and hippies. But then moms from a nearby star system joined in and then came the Hawaiians! With each community training, every march and every rally, the movement grew. At first, locals were suspicious and fearful. But the teachers were brilliant, and the revelations about health risks frightening. The small leadership had inexhaustible energy – they had the Force!
The empire had all the advantages of the dark side – the support of local government and power players, ad experts, and pots of money. They listened in on the rebel phone calls, read their emails and still saw no problem, convinced their superior forces would easily crush the rebellion.
The movement grew slowly, and then very quickly as it went viral. Suddenly the message was everywhere; the moms were talking to all their neighbors, and the news exploded on the Internet as more and more people became appalled by the magnitude of the poisonous operations around them.
The empire tried to instill fear in the farmers and confuse the masses. “There will be chaos,” they said, as they flooded airways and mailboxes with threats of economic chaos. “The rebels will destroy the natural order of the universe.” The local population watched, reflected and soon realized the empire is here only to mine and ship out our resources; it otherwise has no use for our small corner of the planet. The exports leave quickly while the chemicals stay behind, bio-accumulating in the soil, air, water and, inevitably, in us.
“A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.” The rebel alliance took Yoda’s advice and stuck to telling their truths from the heart. Soon, “Enuff Already!” became the rallying cry across this remote corner of the empire.
When the campaign spending report came out, the rebel alliance pounced on it. As voters on the fence discovered the amounts spent to brainwash them, they mentally checked ‘Yes to test.’
“You are beaten. It is useless to resist,” said Darth Vader. High officials warned that if the new order were to be invoked, there would be ‘papaya police’ in your backyard, inspecting. Field workers doffed their hazmat suits and donned overalls to wave signs. Full-page ads listed hundreds of empire supporters.
But Yoda assured us, “the Force…a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we…” And so it is that the rebels built their alliance based on education, love of the land, respect for the host culture, and a pledge to tell the truth with compassion.
The Force empowering the resistance is the same consciousness that is illuminating the global awakening, turning ordinary citizens into extraordinary activists determined to stop the chemical insanity.
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Within six hours of the GMO moratorium initiative being approved by voters on November 4 – a victory that echoed around the country – the biotech announced they would sue in federal court. But then, in a surprise move a week later, five citizens and the SHAKA Movement filed suit in state court to keep the matter on Maui where it belongs. The very next day, Monsanto and Dow, the Hawaii Farmer’s Union, et al. filed suit in federal court to have the law ruled illegal; Maui County joined in that suit. The latest news as of the writing of this article is that U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren stayed all action until December 5.
Mark Sheehan covers the galaxy beat, but sells real estate locally. Email mark@marksheehan.com.