Across history, the function and design of capitol buildings has often been about projecting a representation of our highest ideals. When the U.S. Capitol was designed in 1793, the nation’s founders looked to Ancient Greece and Rome for their inspiration as part of President George Washington’s bigger vision for a national city that projected prestige.

Prestige is a powerful concept, especially for democracy, because it captures the essence of how serious and special the work of governance is. Our own Hawaiʻi State Capitol, designed by John Carl Warnecke & Associates of San Francisco and Belt, Lemon & Lo of Honolulu, was meant to evoke the impressive image of a volcano (the building), ringed by palm trees (the columns), and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean (the reflecting pool).

Completed and dedicated in 1965, the Capitol has seen a lot of history and weathering, but it remains an important avatar and nerve center of our democracy. If our seat of government is dilapidated, it risks projecting an omen that our state and society — public and private alike — is in decline, something that should concern us all.

It is therefore no surprise that last month the Department of Accounting and General Services requested that the Legislature appropriate $2 million for planning for State Capitol building rehabilitation and related improvements. The “Big Square Building” looks like a big hot mess at the moment, and this impacts the ability of the public to enjoy full use of the Capitol for civic engagement.

We have a push-pull problem when it comes to renovating or building government structures. On one hand, there are basic functional standards for how buildings should be maintained as well as important aesthetic and psychological considerations about their appearance. On the other hand, there are always reactionary people who see any kind of upgrade to these facilities as giving government extra cushiness or luxuryization of elected office. 

I can’t say that I blame some individuals for thinking, “why should elected officials get a nice building when I live in squalor and can’t pay the bills.” But it’s important to note that having a prestigious Capitol building is not about our elected officials. 

Unlike voting for pay raises, voting for a functioning, well-kept and yes, good-looking building is about all of us. We need the Capitol upgraded so we the people can use it to maximum effect — both for policymaking and for the evangelization of our form of government.

When foreign dignitaries and tourists from countries that are not democracies come to Hawaiʻi, we want to impress them so they can go home and boast about the greatness of Hawaiʻi and the beauty of our buildings. 

When people from the other 49 states come to Hawaiʻi, we want them to see that America’s youngest state has the newest ideas, the most modern buildings and the freshest-looking capital city and Capitol building. 

It’s politically easy to succumb to peer pressure in this area and stand back and say, “I don’t want to stir up controversy, I want to win reelection, so if mediocrity keeps the peace, I will do the minimum and stay below the radar.” Democracy gets a bad reputation because of thinking like that. Just ask the late Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who said, “mediocrity triumphs under the guise of democratic restraints.”

Let me give you a quick personal allegory. Last month, several of my friends and family members were all talking about how their computers and mobile devices were getting old and starting to glitch out or slow down. When I asked each of them what they were thinking about getting, they mentioned “I might get this laptop,” or “I might get this tablet” and so on. All of them were thinking about getting newer but cheap products, and I told them that was a mistake.

“If you’re thinking about saving money by buying a cheap replacement for your laptop,” I told one of my friends, “that’s your mistake right there. You’re likely going to end up buying another one in a year or less when a major upgrade rolls out that can’t be installed on it. In the end you’ll pay more than if you bought a laptop with maximum specifications that lasts you five years or more.”

Worried about possible tariffs that were threatened on tech-producing countries like China and Canada, I last month bought myself a top-of-the-line 16-inch MacBook Pro for school at UH Manoa. I wasn’t going to cheat myself in the long run by getting something that would only last me a short time. (My last Apple laptop, purchased under the same strategy, served me for almost 10 years.)

There’s an important lesson here for all of us. DAGS may have asked for an initial $2 million, but our state’s fiscal position is extremely strong and we have more than enough room to go from what is in my opinion a small-fries approach to a more robust plan that says if we’re going to do this, let’s do this right.

Legislators should show leadership by appropriating more robust funding to fix and beautify the Capitol and the surrounding areas so they can be the inspirational, prestigious and fully functional nerve center of democracy that we need. This should involve making the building more accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities, adding a public parking structure so that more people can rapidly make unplanned visits, and building areas where the public can hold their own meetings and collaborations without interfering with hearing schedules — to name a few things.

I also have said before that there needs to be a comfortable lobby, as well as a cafeteria, at the Capitol, for the benefit of the many people who work long hours there or members of the public who need a place to wait, sometimes all day, while conference committees are mulling over complex bills of interest. The U.S. Capitol is a perfect example of this, and it’s one of many things that can make the seat of governance a place where people are welcome, rather than someplace that is a chore to visit.

We think too small too often in Hawaiʻi policymaking, and we settle for less when we should be paying attention to high standards and prestigious appearances. We build on the cheap and we pay more in the long run for our lack of vision and absence of initiative.

This is not about elected officials. This is about asking ourselves, “Don’t we think highly enough about democracy that we should showcase it, promote it and make it look damn good to our people and the world?”