OPINION
Harry Palmer
NZ’s newly elected government has yet to prove it’s different from the rest but look at the kind of politicians and ‘officials’ that are firmly embedded in power in Europe, the UK and the USA. They’re not going to be voted out because they’re across the spectrum in all political parties.
And, judging by how education has evolved in recent decades, the situation can only get worse. But why should I, an old codger sitting in a retirement village, concern myself with the future for the frogs currently wallowing in the pot of water warming atop the stove?
It’s a sadness that I have, I suppose: a sadness for what once was and for what could have been. To feel the ambience of the history of great cities like London, for example, where I once was able to walk down Downing Street, say hello to the copper standing outside Number 10 and stroll on. That’s prevented nowadays by tall wrought-iron railings and an impressive gate that’s been installed at the end of the street. That fence and gate to me represent more than a denial of access to the home of British prime ministers; it’s also a denial of my belonging to something bigger than myself: what was once my very own native country. (I now happily belong to New Zealand.) The fence and gate are necessary because of the threat of ‘terrorism’.
But it’s not just such restrictions that deny the desire to belong, it’s also the police ‘persons’ swaggering around with guns slung around their necks, the bag searching and constant suspicion, the cheap to produce vacuous crap that passes for entertainment, the media’s outright lies and disinformation (which they vehemently deny, even in the face of solid evidence to the contrary). It is the feeling of being dirty: covered in the imaginary filth shoveled over us from the devious minds of politicians via their media lackeys and the permanent damage this is doing to the fragile fabric of our once cheerful and vision-inspired society.
You’re always going to get cunning lowlifes in parliament but, with collectivism taking over the way political parties are managed thanks to proportional representation (those who try to be independent face punishment from party whips), it has consequently spilled over into the way the parties jointly manage the country. That sort of collectivised zombie personality is present in the great majority of all political parties and even the populations these days.
One big area of concern is the absence of ‘wisdom’ in the leadership of most Western countries. But where is one to start, when the education system in many countries has become the institution for the indoctrination of young people with stupid ideas? Where the catering for base desires, bread and circuses stuff, serves for entertainment; where having an undergraduate degree in sociology guarantees you the job of inspector in the police force without having to do the pedestrian stuff first; where a degree in ‘gender studies’ guarantees a cushy, well-paid job as a ‘diversity, equity and inclusivity’ officer in a large company or in public service. Or where a degree in ‘communications for politics and public relations’ can get you the cushy jobs as prime minister and then at Harvard.
This narrow and shallow form of education invariably leads to the recipient being completely unaware of the information and experience once deemed necessary for being able to lead a normal, happy, productive and aspirational life.
I suggest that ideas like examining one’s conscience for wrongdoing and acknowledging that ‘love’ is not only the foundation of faith but also the lubricant were once accepted as the necessary cornerstone for a thriving and successful society of thinking individuals with their metaphorical feet firmly on the ground. No longer. Self awareness and an inner, active life built up from childhood has no substitute. Of course wrongheaded teachings are not solely responsible for the production of a psychopathic or anti-social personality; a genetic predisposition might be involved in some cases, and adverse childhood experiences can contribute to emotional detachment, lack of empathy and impulsive behaviour, as of course can poverty, inequality, a lack of positive role models and exposure to criminal subcultures.
Political parties’ pamphlets for individual candidates only describe how wonderful their aspirant MPs are. The same party that mollycoddles them also sends in the cleanup crew and a PR guy when its MPs stuff up. So quite obviously voters are denied the most important if not vital information about the individuals they are presented with by the political parties – this is the first step in facilitating ‘The Party’ to gain absolute control over their candidates.
But, the parties – no matter of which shade – are controlled by puppet masters hiding in the shade: typically billionaires playing self-interested power games, major corporate lobbyists or simply monied weirdos who enjoy wielding power over others and get their way by dangling dollars before party leaders and their minions.