Are we nearing a social breaking point?

Watching the Arab Spring revolutions on TV, I was fearfully reminded of the streets of Newark and Plainfield, N.J., in 1967 as a young man working with leaders of that state to try to calm the folks who had let their frustrations turn to riot.

Law and order broke down, people died, the National Guard responded with tanks, cooler heads responded with offers to sit and talk. My boss stood in a Plainfield street and ordered a tank to turn around, so his team could go in and negotiate, a man who would later become dean of the Harvard School of Education. Leadership.

Next the usual congressional study committee: "The National Commission on Civil Disorders" (the Kerner Commission). The report’s bottom line: Causes included long-term social and economic problems, unemployment, poor educational opportunities, unaffordable housing, city government decisions based upon the color of one’s skin, the long hot summer; a tsunami wave of pent up frustration. Can it happen? It did.

Can we draw any parallels from these drastic events in New Jersey? Can it happen here in the Aloha State? One would think it an unlikely scenario in a state where folks are said to be among the happiest in the nation. But what is our current level of frustration compared to what individuals and groups can tolerate?

We learned that there is a tipping point. Are our government leaders responding to our frustrations? Do they think about it? Do they favor special interests, lobbyists, campaign contributors, one nationality, race or religion, or who was here first? Do they envision the long-term future of our island based upon short-term unemployment problems or upon long-term sustainability? Will there be real solutions or just cumulative frustration; more City Council members going to jail, or free state Senate trips to Taiwan?

Our frustrations may be running higher than it appears. Take water supply as one example. I remember public debate in the 1970s about our finite water supply. John Mink (Patsy’s husband), a water expert, explained there’s only so much we can pump out at any time. How did government respond?

"New developments must provide their own source of water."

Hello! New wells, more pumping. Is the source really there? Is there surplus water in Ewa, Laie or Turtle Bay?

Also, what happens to the water we use? Yes, it sustains us. But human and animal waste, chemicals, diseases, drugs and all manner of contaminants go into most of the water. Then we dump it in our ocean, with little more than removing things that float. The EPA said it is bad for our health (not to mention tourism) to do that without more treatment. Local government response: What does the EPA know? Get a waiver!

Frustration mounted. Along came those pesky environmental organizations — you know, those annoying people without special economic interests. They sued. Honolulu mayors and City Councils spent more years and about $5 million on lawyers. But then the bubble burst when the Waikiki pipe burst sending shock waves throughout the state and the tourism world. Busted! The lawsuit was settled almost immediately.

Frustrations may indeed be high. How high?