Editor,

Of all the things I have written about in this Forum, readers should take them with a grain of salt for it is coming from a small minded person. My mother-in-law constantly reminds me that. Do not doubt the expert. Truth being exposed, I want to voice what is brewing in my small mind regarding what the future holds for the Kingdom of the Friendly People.

The King is gravely ill and there is no doubt who will be the successor to the throne. Is it improper to ask, "Should He (Crown Prince) be king?" I wish it was like the early years of the Kanokupolu Dynasty where the king was selected by personal traits and leadership abilities, not birthright. I am sure the Crown Prince is a fine gentleman. My crystal ball does not predict what the future holds for him during his reign. Mahalo pe kuo masolisoli e crystal ball! But, in my far-reaching attempt to make sense of the possibilities ahead of us, I am with the doomsday crowd. In our world view, the end of the kingdom is near.

A wise man once said, "You have the liberty to choose your actions, but neither do you have the choices of their consequences".” In the next few months, the kingdom will come to the crossroad where a new king will reign. While we are in this crossroad, we have the choice to mold our kingdom's destiny. Will we support our new king or will we put him on a slow moving canoe to obsolescence?....

As we push forward in our own way with the intent to be the ruler of our own domain, the kingdom remains the inheritance we all share to claim (God and Tonga are My Inheritance). If I am not mistaken, God may have been sold to the Chinese. We've sold them everything else, haven'’t we? We must have. Their shops are open on Sundays and no one (Police) is doing anything about it. I only mention this because I believe the Constitution said something about the Sabbath. But, I have been wrong before. It may have talked about the nuisance of the lali and church bells on that day. The Crown Prince himself somehow once agreed with that.

In my own world...’s anticipation of this succession, I truly fantasize for a better governed kingdom where ...“people of integrity...” are engaged in the process of governing. The current System of Governing is corrupted, therefore, we need change. From the Big Shot at the top to the street sweeper at the bottom, attitude change is imperative to breed the successful transition to our near utopian like kingdom. Dream on! Government's revenues should be closely guarded and spent as if it is one...’s own money not a windfall of opportunity. Compensation should be given for work being done, not for the friendship or kinship to the top knob and by merits not marriage.

What the kingdom needs are able and capable men and women with high moral values, not moral police tendencies. Loyalty, Integrity and Selfless Service to the country, to name a few personal traits, are needed to lift the kingdom out of its present predicament. There will be plenty of painful hiccups and challenges along the way. We just have to stay focused to see it through. If we look far ahead and start planning now, perfect will not be attained but we will certainly leave the kingdom a better place for our grandchildren than we found it.

There are sufficient political proposals out there where bright minds can converse and by consensus select a democratic process to govern us. We can live in a kingdom where a monarchy and the democratic process co-exist. Having a king in the 21st century set us apart from our fellow island nations in the Pacific. Regardless of whom we select to lead us, we are all in this together. We all have the opportunity to get involved in how we will be governed. Otherwise, the "Speak now or forever hold your peace" phrase applies, and we will have no one else to blame but us. Now that I can speak my peace, "Before another Chinese has a passport, can I have mine back?"

Tama Foa