Is Hawaii technically a state of the United States of America? No. And I’ll tell you why. It’s an archipelago.
Ever since the ’50s, most people have mistakenly thought that Hawaii is one of the United States of America, but they are dead wrong, because that’s impossible. Hawaii isn’t a state at all – it’s a group of islands! Whoever wrote it down that Hawaii is any one thing, let alone a state, has either obviously never read Rand McNally’s “World Atlas” (2008), or is insensitive to the paths of geologic history.
You see, the islands of Hawaii were formed along something known as a “volcanic hotspot.” Let me break it down in layman terms so you can understand: the middle of the Earth pushes out these little pieces of volcano rocks that float to the surface of the ocean. Then birds land on them with seeds on their feathers, and trees, such as palm and albizia, grow. Once you get plants, voila: an entire ecosystem in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But let me be clear: it is in no way a state.
A state is connected by highways — called INTERSTATES. How can Hawaii (which is the most isolated landmass in the world, by the way) be connected to the other states? Is there a 2,486-mile highway I don’t know about? Didn’t think so, and without that, it physically can’t be a state. It’s plain and simple.
I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but Hawaii just isn’t a part of the United States of America. It’s a sovereign scattering of islands formed by happenstance that will come and go over millennia as long as the Pacific plate drifts in a northwesterly direction.
Jeff Gelbin is a sociologist, historian, and philosopher based in Cincinnati, OH. He has written for such publications as Examiner.com, Blogspot, and Medium.