Sit in on any Ivy League university lecture on what constitutes ideal government, and you’ll likely hear lofty talk about “government of the people,” “climate protection,” or “universal human rights.”

If you ask me, however, this political scientist believes very strongly that the ideal government consistently collects the trash, keeps the streets clean and cuts the grass in public spaces before it tries to do anything else.

How many times do we have to say it? Oahu looks like a dump. We said this years ago under Hawaii Gov. David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, and we have to keep saying it in 2023 under Gov. Josh Green and Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

This situation is unacceptable and action needs to be taken, now.

When, for example, grass in medians is allowed to grow to jungle-like proportions as it has along some of the center medians on Vineyard Street in Honolulu, it is not only unsightly to look at, but it presents a public safety hazard because it limits the ability to see pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Ideally, grass near roads should be kept tightly cropped at all times, so that both drivers and pedestrians can have wide fields of visibility and clear situational awareness. What happens if people are illegally crossing or driving through a crosswalk and can’t see someone approaching because they are obscured by grass? Combine this environmental hazard with human stress, fatigue, drugs, alcohol, bad weather – or all of the above – and you’re asking for trouble.

As I have argued before, when things are confusing or distracting, deadly accidents can happen. We want to always be sure our public spaces are aesthetically pleasing and free from unnecessary safety risks. This is not just common sense, it’s a reflection of a bigger issue — the degree to which our government pays attention to detail.

If government can’t be counted on to do something as simple as consistently cutting the grass, it can’t be trusted with the infinitely bigger tasks of “cutting” corruption, inequality or carbon emissions.

Attention to detail and leadership go hand-in-hand. People cannot say that they are leaders if they don’t pay attention to detail; and they cannot say that they have ever truly led if there are no consequences for failure.

I like how the late Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, father of the modern nuclear Navy, explained it to cadets: “Responsibility is a unique concept … you may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you … If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance, or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else.”

So how exactly do we break this cycle of Oahu looking shabby, trashy and hazardous?

Do we form a blue-ribbon committee? 

Shall we ask the Senate Ways and Means Committee while it still has a chance to chop up a bill and drop in language that creates and funds an Office of Grass Cutting and Trash Clean-Up for six months?

Should we hold a march that starts at Keehi Lagoon and ends in front of Honolulu Hale with 300 or more concerned citizens holding “Clean Up Oahu Now” signs?

Do we approach this the way we approach any other issue on Oahu, with maximum virtue signaling, politician pageantry and talk — and minimum action?

I have a much better and much simpler idea.

Green for sure must have a cell phone, and he can, after reading this article, give Blangiardi a call and ask, “Mayor, are you doing anything tomorrow? I was thinking the two of us could take a drive around Oahu with our staffs, and we can see firsthand and identify everything that needs to be cleaned up, tidied up or fixed up. Once that’s done, we can task appropriate agencies or work together to get it done. What do you think?”

It could even work the other way around, where Blangiardi asks Green that question. The crucial thing however is that the leaders go out and see for themselves what’s wrong so they can be outraged like the rest of us and send a snowflake – that is, a brief action memo directed to the government entity tasked with regulating that matter – and get it done, right now.

“Danny, we don’t have the money to do that.” Wait, what? We don’t have the money for an agency to perform its existing mission? People who are paid to cut the grass with taxpayer dollars can’t cut the grass when asked? People who are supposed to clean up trash or maintain public spaces can’t do that?

“Danny, the bureaucracies will complain and push back.” So let them complain and push back, their job is to do what they’re told, the governor and the mayor’s job is to find a way to get things done. When you want something, and I mean really want something, you find a way to make it happen, without excuses.

If this means political appointees and other people under the governor or mayor need to be “voluntold” under the auspices of the nebulous “additional duties as required” line in their job description, then so be it. The point is we take initiative, we show attention to detail, and we act like Oahu is a place to be reverently maintained, not a dump that languishes to the point of decay.

You know your government is actually doing a good job when Oahu starts looking good again. Let’s stop making excuses and just get it done.