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Christmas wishes generally come in two categories.
First are pie-in-the-sky dreams with little chance of coming true. It's saying you desire world peace or to win the lottery. A lot of folks on this island wish they could wake on Christmas Day and discover the Lahaina and Kula fires were a merely nightmares. All the death and devastation never occurred.
The second type of wishing is more pragmatic and, thus, more likely to succeed. It's asking for things within the budget and the bounds of space and time.
For the record, this Christmas we would like world peace, a global focus on protecting Earth's climate and the downfall of political meanness and spite. Category one items for sure. Who doesn't wish the wildfires never happened? Not counting, of course, the outsiders, opportunists and flimflam artists who have quickly angled to profit from the disaster. Sadly, for them, the fires were dreams come true.
Let's consider a few wishes that are obtainable.
While there can be no erasing the fires or their devastating impacts on people's lives, homes, businesses and basic ways of life, it seems reasonable to wish that displaced survivors would be able to find long-term housing on this island. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and a host of others have beat the bushes looking for places for them to rent. There have been successes, but far too many families and individuals are still crammed into hotel rooms or bouncing from one property to the next.
As disaster survivors, they have no choice but to be realists. They know federal, state and county assistance must eventually end. Does anyone think they're not worried about what happens then?
Is it too much to wish that short-term rental owners would have the hearts and civic mindedness to take a year off from catering to tourists to make their properties available to island residents who have suffered such loss? Gov. Green says he is willing to use either the carrot or the stick to induce the owners into doing the right thing. Whether he can pull it off without getting bogged down in the courts or dramatically inflating an already overpriced rental market remains to be seen.
We wish for a speedy recovery for Lahaina. Rather than delays and infighting, there would be cooperation, compromise and consensus. Instead of stakeholders viewing the town's rebuild as opportunities to maximize profits and advance narrow agendas, they would draw on its long history to chart a path that is best for its future.
Most of all, we wish for aloha. For such a simple concept, Hawaii's gift to the world is so powerful. Embracing love, respect and sharing, aloha is the glue that held multicultural Lahaina together. It wasn't enforced or mandated, aloha was just how Lahaina rolled. We hope decision makers hold that truth close to their hearts.