‘Christian right’ a vocal minority

Richard Borreca’s Sunday column was both accurate and alarming ("Same-sex marriage foes flex muscles in election," On Politics, Star-Advertiser).

He correctly cites the campaign activity of James Aiona with Honolulu pastors, and I know candidates are speaking in Kailua churches. When there is even a suggestion of how to vote, it is a clear violation of the separation of church and state.

The "conservative Christian right" is determined to defeat legislators (i.e., Reps. Cynthia Thielen and Chris Lee) who supported marriage equality, but who have made many significant contributions to our community. These conservative Christians are a vocal minority with a belief system based on absolute truth. An interfaith community, like Hawaii, needs legislators who understand and accept a wider vision of spirituality. We need leaders who embrace religious diversity and are willing to change when new wisdom unfolds.

The majority of our citizens probably support this wider vision, and we need to make our voices heard in both the primary and general elections.

John Heidel
Kailua

Gaza is one big open-air prison

I, too, searched for any mention of the vicious attacks on Gaza in my morning paper. One letter writer said her sister is sitting in a bomb shelter; how lucky she is to have a shelter.

Gaza is one big open-air prison and there is nowhere for the residents to go. Israel says that it gives warning to Gazans about their intention to bomb, sometimes they give them 57-plus seconds — not even enough time to run down the stairs and get out of the house.

There has not been one death in Israel, but the number of fatalities in Gaza is now 168. Most of these are women and children. The numbers of injured are more than 1,000.

The dead babies don’t know anything about politics, but they are being killed anyway by the Israeli targeting of civilians.

Judith Lutfy
Aiea

HTA windfall could fix trails

A recent editorial outlined the lack of local investment in the common tourist elements in Hawaii, such as hiking trails and other scenic attractions ("Hawaii’s parks need attention," Star-Advertiser, Our View, June 7).

Overuse of these public areas has created problems for residents living next to them, including damage to private property, massive garbage deposition and lack of respect for home owners.

The headline in Saturday’s newspaper outlining a $100 million gain in tourism income is indeed good news ("$100M gain in tourism uncovered," Star-Advertiser). A priority of this windfall should be investing in these public attractions to improve and regulate their use. After all, these attractions are in part responsible for this increase in tourism dollars.

Better care of these facilities is good for both tour-ists and local residents.

Carl Oettinger
Kailua

Just label food without GMOs

Considering the amount of GMO food already in use, wouldn’t it make more sense to assume any food product contains genetically modified organisms unless otherwise noted?

That way, those who want to tout the lack of GMO could proudly proclaim "contains no genetically modified organisms" on the label. Everyone should be happy.

But wait. Then someone would have to define the meaning of GMO. Then it could go the route of "organic" or "natural," both of which are so misused as to be meaningless. Where is the line between traditional horticultural selection and gene splicing?

Of course that line is clear, but when big advertising gets ahold of it, spin overwhelms reason.

At least anti-GMO advocates could be satisfied that they were eating a "pure" food product when it is labeled. Right?

Carl Brill
Hawaii Kai

Art deco display deserves kudos

The Honolulu Museum of Art is presenting an outstanding exhibition completely dedicated to the art deco movement and its impact on Hawaii.

It’s a rare opportunity to view all six of Eugene Savage’s original murals, on loan from the Matson Navigation Co., in addition to works by other noted artists.

The exhibition is masterfully displayed. Paintings, murals, jewelry, china, textiles, woodcarvings — they all tell the story of the art deco era here.

Thank you to the entire museum staff and Matson Navigation Co. for their dedication in making this exhibition possible.

Lydia R. Snook
Mililani