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Recently, I was challenged by a prognosticator as to my vision of Hawaii in five years. This person had read the book my partner and I wrote about how Hawaii would fare should there be no more United States. The book was written eight years ago, and my co-author and I took some liberties with our imaginations as to what would happen should the United States default and split up.

Sadly, I am still confronted with the same vision, as conditions have improved little in the past eight years and it appears this country is even more divided.

The built-in fight the Constitution forces between the three branches of the federal government has had its conflicts in our history. What seems to be happening now is that one of the branches has managed to gain leverage over the others in the past century and is now governing through fiat. That isn’t what the founding fathers had in mind.

Our focus as a people has also fallen to issues that perhaps should not be on the national agenda. There are candidates out there calling for a return to better days. There are candidates appealing to religious elements for support. There are candidates who would turn their backs on the principals that made our country great and reject those who seek a better life here.

I would ask those people wanting to come here what it is that attracts them. Maybe the shining hope the United States once offered has become a little tarnished. There are those who will read this and immediately believe I am suggesting we throw open the gates and let anyone in. Not so. There is a process and laws that must be followed.

Personally, I am looking for a leader. One who is enlightened. A candidate who is knowledgeable of the Constitution and the workings of the federal government. Someone with a little experience in that area. I want an enthusiast about our future. I want a leader who has a vision that brings all Americans together. I want a candidate who doesn’t face charges of wrongful doings while in office and has a sense of ethics we can all be proud of as this person is representing the rest of us to the world.

We face a hostile world, yet we are tearing ourselves apart from within over things that against the light of external threats could seem trivial.

Where do I see Hawaii in five years? I’m more concerned for the next nine months as to who will be placed in the White House in January 2017. For Hawaii’s part in this process, our four Electoral College votes have in the past have had little effect on the overall outcome. Yet who knows what the future holds? The election could all settle on who Hawaii chooses to run the country.

What is each candidate’s view of the United States in five years? We’ve been exposed to a lot of rhetoric but where is the substance? Where is the plan? Just getting into the White House is not a plan.

Regardless, we still share a responsibility with the rest of the country in becoming better educated about issues and begin to ask questions of these potential leaders. Hard questions. Not about abortion or flag burning, but matter such as each candidate’s plan for extracting this country from its debt. What is their view of the United States in five years? We’ve been exposed to a lot of rhetoric but where is the substance? Where is the plan? Just getting into the White House is not a plan.

Here is my checklist for my potential presidential candidate:

• A person with a strong sense of ethics. Not religion, but ethics. The reason this is in the number one position is that by far it is more important than the other qualities I am looking for. I don’t want a candidate or president who relies on their religious connections to convey their convictions. I don’t want a president with a truckload of questionable entries on their resume.
• Someone with experience with the federal government. This is not a job for someone off the street. Or someone who only has experience outside of government.
• I want inspiration, not rhetoric. We seem to have forgotten the words of John F. Kennedy who challenged us to get to the moon. It seems our spirit has dissolved into finding fault with the other guy as opposed to working towards a goal.
• I want a president that can foster team work not partisanship.

I’m not looking for the perfect candidate. I am looking for someone who can measure up to the job. And I’m sure all the current candidates would say they do. I disagree. There continues to be backbiting and innuendo between candidates and between parties.

As a voter, I am sick of it. As a veteran, this is not what I or my fellow vets put their lives on the line for. We swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Based on that criteria, who at the moment can offer me the leadership and guidance once offered by John Kennedy? Who has the spirit and can get us all to work towards a goal? Again, I’m sure the current candidates would also agree they offer the same dynamics as JFK. I’m not convinced.

We here in Hawaii as well as the rest of the country, need to do our homework. We are connected to the rest of the country despite a couple thousand miles of ocean. Start asking yourself what kind of a Hawaii you see in five years. Maybe begin by making your own checklist.