Pages

Friday, November 9, 2018

Clive Bibby: "Be careful what you wish for"


A recent provincial newspaper editorial suggesting the likely liberalisation of some of the laws governing social issues in this country, while an accurate summary of public opinion trends, was also a sad reflection of the nation's ambivalence towards safeguards of our sovereignty.

Every time an issue that requires some sole searching of our attitudes to what some would call a more "progressive" society, we are challenged to asked ourselves if the move will really provide the environment that will benefit us all or just a few.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up and be counted as one who believes the suggested changes will bring more problems than we need even if the evidence supports such a stance.

To do so will inevitably make the lone defender of long valued cornerstones of our social fabric the subject of ridicule from those who find it difficult to move public opinion any other way.

It is not enough to argue the issue on the basis of hard evidence these days. A necessary part of the progressive movement's repertoire is to question the more conservative proponent's intellectual capacity and mental state. If you go public with your beliefs, you are demonised as some sort of half wit unable to reason. You are presented as being sub human and attempts are made to make you a laughing stock.

Is that the kiwi way? I think not but, given the current public apathy, it will probably be enough to swing it.

One of the proposed changes mentioned in the editorial is classic example of how this works.

The process being undertaken to liberalise the law governing the availability of cannabis for both medicinal purposes and personnel use.

Even though the evidence suggests that cannabis as a pain relief drug can be prescribed now for any patient who doctors think would benefit especially those under palliative care, the supporters of a wider availability are not satisfied.

The more sinister development is the likely introduction of a referendum on the availability of the drug for personal use.

You'd have to be short in the brain department to not recognise this as the first step in a move to change the law allowing every adult to grow their own plot of cannabis. That effectively means universal availability irrespective of any age restriction in the legislation to supposedly prevent its use by minors. That situation exists now so who are they trying to kid. There is no question that this type of law change would have serious repercussions for our whole work force yet the advocates ignore the evidence.

One of the biggest problems faced by the forestry industry across the nation is the difficulty contractors are having finding enough drug free candidates to fill their crews operating the high tech equipment in an industry with a history of serious accidents.

If cannabis is used as a recreational drug by these employees over a weekend then the problem can only get worse and would be repeated in other major industries where drug tests are required by law. Why would we want that?

The tragedy of the progressive movement is that every time we are conned into giving away another bit of personal responsibility for our own actions, we collectively chip away at the basis of our sovereignty until there is nothing left to support a society strong enough to withstand the pressures of living in the modern world.

We become a rabble - every person for themselves. That means anarchy and history tells us, in those circumstances, we will not survive.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.

1 comment:

Brian said...

Clive Bibby’s blog raises many issues on the loss of democracy over the period from the end of World War 11.
This raises the question of the law being actually applied equally for a similar crimes; the practice that indigenous cultural rights have to be taken into account when dealing with tribalism, puts this equality into question.
The so-called progressive movement believes in change, but a more accurate assessment would be that there is a more of a left wing agenda behind this pressure for political power and its support for United Nations World Government.
A problem has come into focus in just how independent our Justice system is from Parliament? Reports indicate that our Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis has used humanitarian concerns to override legal Court verdicts and does this action pertain to all prisoners or is it ethnically selected?
Whatever the outcome of the Correction Minister’s actions even if they are dismissed by the present Government; the intent is evident, even if the timing is not appropriate!
Apart from the fact that this action by Kelvin Davis is outright apartheid and racist, it is also a blatant interference with our judicial system.
In a democracy the enshrined principal is that Parliament makes the Law, but that the Justice system administers that Law.
Shortly our Prime Minister will decide who our Chief Justice will be; if the labour Government allows her Correction Minister to dispense justice on a racial basis then our situation will become a “publicae rei publicae intra” (a state within a State)
Failure by our Prime Minister to rein in and/or dismiss her Corrections Minister publically, will tell us all that such practices are a feature of the future policy by this administration.
We tend here in New Zealand, to accept without question that our political parties are always right. In this, Clive’s comment upon the liberalisation of a drug such as Cannabis shows that politicians are governed more by what may happen at the ballot box.
The astute effective propaganda supporting the use of cannabis by the Progressives and ultra liberals is a total rejection of any medical concerns, and effects upon our juvenile society.
Brian



Post a Comment

Thanks for engaging in the debate!

Because this is a public forum, we will only publish comments that are respectful and do NOT contain links to other sites. We appreciate your cooperation.