There are the locals, the descendants of the first people to call Hawaii home, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of sugar workers and store owners who saved up for small houses and big dreams of university educations; the people who raised families here because of a way of life in the islands that felt good and true.

Then there are the newcomers, who managed to make money and keep hold of money while the recession drained everyone else’s savings. They plant their flag on their plot of Hawaii land and want sovereignty over their portion of paradise. They live here, but they live separately, and that’s their choosing.

And then there are the tourists, the people who come here lugging bags full of expectations and leave items like polite behavior and the sensible avoidance of obvious dangers back home.

Hawaii could be divided into these competing groups 50 or 60 years ago. It can be divided into these conflicting interests today. The difference is there’s more of everyone and less room on which to spread out our incompatible desires.

The locals still struggle, the newcomers still try to boss the locals around by telling us everything we don’t know and how things were better where they came from, and the tourists still get in everyone’s way and complain about paying too much for the tropical wonders they were told they would see. Hawaii is still being sold as paradise but fewer are happy with the Hawaii in which they find themselves.

But all agree on one thing. We all share the same wish. Maybe for the first time, we all wish for less.

Everyone wishes the beaches were less crowded. Everyone wishes traffic wasn’t so insanely bad. Everyone wishes they could always find a parking space, a quiet place, an open spot on the waiting list.

Or just less competition for resources so there wouldn’t have to be so many waiting lists.

We wish for fewer crowds on hiking trails, less crowding in the lineup at surf spots, fewer cars parked along what used to be undiscovered beaches.

We pray for less stress, less crime, less homelessness, less apathy. Who doesn’t want to pay less for basics? To use less, want less, owe less?

The ones who want more are in the fourth group: the moneymakers, the developers, the titans of industry. They, too, have been here for decades. They lure in the tourists and make promises of a magical life. It is to their advantage to build more houses and roads, more stores and hotels. When things get rough for the workers, when it gets harder to live here because resources and space are at a premium, profits only go up. Achieving and sustaining a balance in the community is never a sincere goal. It is always about more. Everything must grow. Profits must go up.

As we entertain thoughts of the year to come, so many wishes for more are, in truth, a wish for less.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.