Grant Finch
You’ve got to laugh at comedians, though not for the reasons they presume. Comedians’ stock in trade was poking fun at authority figures, and giving alternate takes on popular convention.
Then came Jacinda!
Now, you’d be hard-pressed to find more sycophantic cheerleaders for the state, and they are completely unaware. Oh, the irony; that’s the cause for mirth!
One major change that will emerge from our pandemic machinations is the upending of the values of inclusion, equality, acceptance and non-judgement. Most of the people you presumed were free thinkers and actually meant the jargon they spoke, will have been exposed as fraudsters. It was all posturing, just to be in the ‘in’ crowd. There was no deep understanding of the ideas they espoused.
You’ve got to admire their chutzpah though, as it made conservatives relax their grip on convention. The Left offered the notion of a middle ground where we all accepted each other’s point of view and muddled on together. It was never true; it was just a grab for power and now that they have it, they are in no mind to share it. That they can barefacedly push agendas that are directly opposite to their earlier statements and appear to be unaware of the contradiction, shows how little understood or meaningful were their ‘ideals’.
Because some of this happened over a few decades some will argue that it was not their original intent and that the players aren’t the same, but don’t believe them. Just look and listen to the crusading youth that were marching for freedom and inclusion, against apartheid and censorship. They are now our mayors and ministers. Pushing lockdowns and exclusion, demanding total adherence to their ‘truth’ and actively encouraging division. Does this in any way resemble their ‘earnestly’ held beliefs?
Expediency could be offered as an explanation for their embarrassing about-face: that, and the ‘temporary’ nature of their measures. However, ideals must outstrip exigency if they have any value.
Roger Scruton puts it this way, “If somebody tells you there is no such thing as truth, they are asking you not to believe them. So don’t!”