Guardian of the "Crown" [1]
Friday, April 29, 2005 - 12:00. Updated on Friday, May 9, 2014 - 11:02.
A long, long time ago, my great-great-great grandfather, Moli and his sons, Mosese and Havea Hikule...o were in King Tupou I...s army. Moli...s valor during their campaign in Fiji gained him notoriety. The king named him Puakahetau. In their return to Tonga, the king stood at a spot somewhere in Kolofo...ou and pointed to Fanga...uta. He told Moli, ...this area is for your family.... Keep in mind, Mu...a was still the capital during this time. Today, Moli...s descendants still occupy that place in Kolofo...ou.
Tonga is now consolidated with a king. The constitution followed. Moli returned to his post. His father and his father...s father were guards to the king wherever they went. In Moli...s case, he returned to guard Vatuli, where the ...Tu...i-ta-Tui" was buried. Mosese continued to serve the king, in a different manner. Mosese refused to assume Moli...s title, Nopele Lasike. Mosese decided to become a ...faifekau... instead. So, the king declared, ...Sai, ta tuku a ko e ki Langi.... Mosese became the king...s pastor. From that day on, all of Mosese and Havea Hikule...o...s descendants took on the name ...Langi... as their last name.
It is with pride that I mention my connection to these men...s service to their country. The legacy they left behind has been in the oral history of our family for generations. It is this legacy I am feeling obligated to speak out as a guardian of the ...Crown..., not whom who wears it.
My story is as similar to yours. Your forebears were in the middle of all these. Mine just happened to be better liars. Six generations later, the story is still told as if they were happened yesterday. Somewhere in Timbuktu, USA, life is good to me. However, I am emotionally tied to a small island nation in the South Pacific. What this small nation need is a leader; someone who remembers, he is provided with luxury while his subjects are struggling to make ends meet; someone who remembers being king is a privilege not a right.
Sophocles once said, ...I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor (king) who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State (kingdom); and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare - I have no use for him either....
It is humorous to think after many centuries, these old men are still talking about us.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. (Plato) If we do not speak up, the rulers will think we are enjoying how we are treated.
The great fable storyteller once wrote, ...We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. (Aesop) (Isn...t this the truth?)
Compromise
I know many of us ex-patriates as well as many citizens in the kingdom are voicing our displeasure with how things are run in the government. To be fair and upfront, I am in favor of the system that is in place, Constitutional Monarchy.
The kingdom needs people of integrity to lead them. In one of the songs composed by the Late Queen, she wrote, ...Fangu Mahua Mei Fale Lahi.... Many things have trickled from that ...Big House..., unfortunately, integrity is a rarity for it is far and few in between.
One of the Nobles mentioned ...Returning to Pouono... as the solution. My translation of Pouono is, ...Six Pillars... or ...Six Pillars of Character... Trustworthiness. Respect. Responsibility. Fairness. Caring. Citizenship. Our fore-fathers knew what they were doing, didn...t they? These six traits create the character. If these characters are shown by the Ruling Family, imagine where we will be as a kingdom.
Cool heads must prevail. Adversarial approach only hardens one...s heart and mind. Add pride to the mix and it could easily get out of control. Let us not put ourselves in a corner where we are running out of options. Negotiation and compromise are key factors in diplomacy whether in international relations or our own internal affairs.
Headline grabbing and sensationalism should not have a place in our politics. ...Pukepuke fonua... as was done in Pouono is our way out. Both sides must be willing to compromise.
The challenges are with the Cabinet Members. I only wish we place people who know what they are doing as Cabinet Members. Friend or foe, if you can do the job, you've got it.
TamaFoa
tevita [dot] u [dot] langi [at] us [dot] army [dot] mil