As is so often the case, it takes an outsider to help us see what is right before our face.

That’s the case of a brand-new article in The Nation magazine (read it on line, HERE) by Elinor Langer that tell’s the story of the sovereignty, or Hawaiian self-determination movement in substantial, and mostly quite accurate, detail.

Langer doesn’t tell us all that much we don’t already know, but it is interesting to see this historic and fascinating story viewed by an outsider with fresh eyes.

The article is quite sympathetic to Hawaiians , telling about the overthrow and the ongoing press for restitution for an event that many (including our Courts) believe was illegal. For the most part, it reads the way one would expect from a magazine described as the “flagship of the left.”

But opponents of the self-determination movement in general, and the Hawaiian recognition or Akaka bill in particular,  are also entranced by the article. That’s because it points out correctly that the Akaka bill is quite silent on what would happen if a Hawaiian entity is recognized — a concern central to many opponents of the measure. The article also recognizes the potentially “staggering” implications of the bill on the future of Ceded Lands in the Islands, another driving concern by those in opposition.

So read it for yourself and decide: If an uninvolved bystander read this article and it was the sum total of all he or she understood about the  sovereignty movement, would the reader come away marching with the Hawaiians or would he conclude this is too scary and divisive to contemplate?