Elections are hard on old lefties like me. Even the glorious Labour Party win left me subdued when it became evident the National Party voters who lent their vote to Labour had a condition attached: Hands off our taxes. And as a National TV panellist noted with much satisfaction after the win, “We have a centrist government.”
The Me generation is usually identified as the one born after us. But there is no Me generation, only Me people and, as each elections cycle shows, the Me people always have a winning vote.
Yet the media focusses on political parties, their policies and their representatives, and, of course, speculation about who is going to win, as if the outcome is unpredictable. Yet we know beyond doubt who is going to win.
The Me generation is usually identified as the one born after us. But no matter what the pundits say there is no Me generation. There are only Me people and, as each elections cycle shows, the Me people always have a winning vote.
There are so many good referendum arguments for and against the availability of cannabis and ‘end of life choice’ that picking the bones out of them and voting will take a little longer than ticking a box.
In both cases I tend to the liberalisation argument; one from a considered point of view, the other more emotive than intellectual.
Being considerate and friendly to people who serve us, and to strangers, taking our turn, being honest in our relationships; these are but the beginning of a long list of behaviours that we value in our communities. There’s nothing wrong with conformity, until it becomes inhibiting.
What should an Oranga Tamariki social worker do (when uplifting a Maori child) to help the child’s parents feel better about themselves? I pose this question after reading the Commissioner for Children’s report on the practice of ‘uplifting’ children and failing to make the parents feel better about themselves.
Here’s why we should all feel particularly glad to live in New Zealand at this time, and not only because Covid-19 has gone.
First, because we have no natural predators, and secondly the three rapacious leaders of America, China and Russia don’t think we are worth bothering with. And just in case they do happen to look our way, they will be confused by our headlines.
I don’t share the wishful thinking of those who believe the Corona pandemic will somehow lead us to a more enlightened way of thinking. As if the blight of dirty dairying, unsustainable tourism and no-tax housing investment is going to be less inviting after alert level one has come and gone.
For me; retired, no mortgage, good health, a section to wander around, family near-by and pleasant surroundings, the shut-down is nothing more than a mild inconvenience. A far cry from the experience of the many people who don’t know how they’ll get by without savings, job or secure home, never mind anxiety about the looming economic depression.