That sound you don't hear is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of statehood. Oh sure, they're having a conference at the Convention Center today, but it sounds suspiciously like one of those sustainability conferences they have every six months. A highlight of the all-day event is a job fair. That pretty much sums up where we find ourselves at this moment in time.

Anniversaries are good times for the media to sell advertising, kids to compete in poster contests and Reyn's to make a special shirt. For the rest of us just trying to get by, there is a feeling of ambivalence. Anybody throwing a big statehood party in their garage tonight? Anybody soaping "Happy Statehood" signs on their car windows? Anybody going to remember this day as a shining moment 50 years from now? Uh, no.

The images of 1959 and the stories that have endured make you realize how personal statehood was to the people of Hawai'i. They fought for it. They celebrated in the streets. It was about things like pride, identity and equality. Those things seem almost quaint now. The celebration seems something the state is obligated to put on, not something bursting forth from the hearts of the people. The people are busy. The people have lots of other things to worry about.

As far as civic celebrations go, this one has been a non-starter. Too many thorny issues to wade through, too many painful historical truths to confront. On the one end is the "You ought to be grateful!" anti-sovereignty rant. On the other is the "They ought to be ashamed!" anti-statehood camp. Most people fall somewhere in the middle; perhaps aware of the issues but too stinkin' busy trying to keep the household running to think about how things might have been.

Gov. Linda Lingle and the statehood commission are playing this one low-key, and that's the right note for right now. No parade, no gala ball, just some sedate television spots and old black-and-white pictures. No one is in the party mood.

And while the media has done the soft-focus "looking back" pieces, the statehood conference is emphasizing "looking forward." No one wants to say, "Hey, look at where we are after 50 years." The answer to that one is painfully obvious. We're in trouble.

Maybe 50 years from now, all our problems will have been solved and Hawai'i will be more in a mood to celebrate. When the media does those "100 years of statehood" timelines, there will be a note for 2009 that says, "Marked 50 years of statehood, quietly and apprehensively."