Illustration from the International New York Times op-ed
We love the eloquent conclusion:
“The great dislocation of our time indicates just how frail our monuments, our books, our thoughts and principles can be. Still, they exist — and they are our guide and our shield. But if our symbols are lost, we will be no better than ignorant armies riding pickup trucks through the endless dust, where canals, dried and gone, once made the desert bloom.”
Have you submitted a comment yet on Honolulu’s plan to demolish the wonderful, important Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium? The disturbing plan to actually raze Hawaii’s official memorial to its World War I volunteers.
Natatorium EIS Comments Deadline
If you haven’t, be apprised that the deadline for comments on the upcoming environmental impact study is this Friday, Aug. 22. There are two ways to submit a comment: The first is to write your own letter. [Instructions and a template can be found here; please be sure your letters are mailed and postmarked by Friday night.]
The second way, even easier is to add your signature to a letter written by the Friends of the Natatorium and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Either way: The deadline for input looms.
And “if our symbols are lost, we will be no better than ignorant armies riding pickup trucks through the endless dust, where canals, dried and gone, once made the desert bloom.”
