Interviews with Keoki Kaialau on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Raw footage for "None of the Above," a documentary on non-voters in the 1996 presidential election.
00:00Copy video clip URL Footage driving on the Island of Oahu on election day, November 5, 1996.
04:30Copy video clip URL Footage of workers in the taro patch (sound cuts out briefly).
06:30Copy video clip URL Keoki comes out in the rain, noting that “the environment speaks for itself,” suggesting that a powerful spirit is at force, despite the fact that it’s election day. He comments on the darkness that is covering the land. He comments on how he doesn’t view himself as an American because he didn’t choose to be an American.
09:50Copy video clip URL Keoki tells the story of how Dole came to Hawaii and used the military force to control the land and overthrow the kingdom. He notes how this continues today.
11:20Copy video clip URL Keoki says the elements display a sense of “caution” for the day.
13:20Copy video clip URL Keoki tells how he worked the land while he was growing up and how this continues today. He says that the weight of the system is so heavy that even if good people are in government, the negativity snowballs and the native Hawaiians, who are now a minority on their land, get squashed. He says that he and his relatives never thought of themselves as part of the U.S.
18:35Copy video clip URL Keoki notes how the system of money has overtaken everything and people have lost sight of the value of natural resources and the origin of life. “There are some things that money cannot buy.” He speaks of his family, working with them and being with them; not waiting to retire to enjoy his life; and living every day.
22:20Copy video clip URL Keoki speaks of the spirit of Aloha as the spirit of love and how this is a unique aspect of life in Hawaii. He goes on to speak of the reason why he chooses not vote, saying that “voting is like the blind leading the blind.” He says that he sees no reason to vote for someone to tell him how he should live his life.
26:20Copy video clip URL Keoki talks about the land and how this has been part of his tradition and culture for thousands of years. He compares this to the small amount of time that America has been part of the story. “You don’t plant, you don’t eat.” He speaks of personal responsibility and awareness along with the development of the human being.
33:12Copy video clip URL He and another woman speak briefly of King Kamehameha and his quest to unite the Hawaiian Islands.
34:20Copy video clip URL Sound goes out.
35:50Copy video clip URL Sound comes back. Keoki speaks of the projects he has with the state hospital for patients to work the land as part of therapy. He notes that this project brings life and a sense of direction to people and ultimately provides healing in profound ways.
39:30Copy video clip URL Footage of Rodney, a worker in the taro patch, who says he is not voting because what he is doing in the taro patch is more important.
41:50Copy video clip URL He speaks of how working the taro is “total satisfaction” and how this is everything he believes in, and how important the taro is in Hawaiian culture. “This tells the story: where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going. Do you voters know where you’re going?” He speaks with enthusiasm about the total peace and paradise that he feels in the taro field.
56:44Copy video clip URL “Politics is politics. The devil has that whole thing captive. The machine is rolling.”
59:10Copy video clip URL Keoki holds a cup of poi and they try it together.
1:01:05Copy video clip URL End of tape.
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