I am quite prepared to acknowledge my own limited abilities to see through the deceit and fraudulent posturing that seems to bedevil much of what we have grown up believing is essential to our existence as a orderly society - trust in the law and peaceful coexistence with one another.
I become frustrated when society itself seems to have abandoned the traditional hallmarks of nationhood based on equal opportunities and concern for the genuinely disadvantaged. Instead we seem hell bent on destroying everything that our forebears fought and died for that has survived the test of time simply because it had been proved to work.
No more are we all subject to the same law that used to bind us together. We appear fixated with passing disingenuous legislation that will ensure we are separated based on the origin of our birth and even that privileged position will be available only to a select few. “We are all born equal but some are more equal than others!”
Although l have recently joined the ranks of this county’s senior citizens with its attendant baggage of declining health and limited physical capabilities, l continue to resist the possibility that my mind is failing in similar fashion. It will undoubtedly happen but thankfully, not yet.
I try to compensate, as others of my age do, with constant attention to the world around me and the responsibilities we all have to ensure our time as kaitiaki is not wasted on frivolous activity. There is much we can and should be doing.
I suspect that my personal “eureka moment” is not a sudden realisation about a single subject but more one based on a lifetime of experiences especially those dealing with my fellow human beings. Consequently, my understanding is a multi faceted realisation that humanity is probably doomed to fail due as much as anything to self inflicted wounds and a preponderance for WOKE crusades.
And before the editor of our local newspaper and his doctrinal believers choke on their muesli, l hasten to add that l am not talking about CLIMATE CHANGE or those other threats to our existence - the responsibility for which has been unjustifiably laid at the feet of human activity.
I refer to our inability as a species to recognise the dark side of our own nature - particularly in our dealings with and responsibilities for each other.
How can we expect to deal with the evil regimes of China, Russia and Iran from a position of strength (which is the only thing they respect) when we, as a sovereign nation, appear intent on following this path of self destruction that is manifest in a government drunk on power.
If we don’t change, our condition becomes terminal.
We must return our own house to order before we can do
anything about helping others to do the same with theirs.
Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.
6 comments:
In the West, we all take modern democracy for granted but it has only been around in its present form for the last 100 - 150 years and is very much the exception in human history.
Perhaps democracies are a passing fad and gradually nations will revert to regimes that don't rely on the people to elect them. For those in power this is a much better system.
We humans have a remarkable ability to follow causes that lead down a dark, dangerous path. Surely there are enough examples in history to show us the perils of following fanatical zealots. I wouldn't bet on it though.
Well said DeeM, there are many recent examples of lambs being led to their slaughter. 1930s Germany springs to mind, where many ignored the early warning signs of what was to come.
I was about to say --- GOD SAVE US FROM THIS DICTATORSHIP --- But I fear he's stopped listening, The west has gone mad.
As Sir Winston Churchill said, "The best argument against democracy is to listen to the average voter for 5 minutes".
Democracy has always been a terrible system, those that want power are exactly the people who should never be allowed near it. The ease with which votes can be bought with stolen money shows the voters are not ready for it either.
Just run it like the jury system, call people up randomly for a once-in-a-lifetime duty to run the country for four years. Most people I talk to say "but the average Joe can't run a country", as if there is a qualification to become a politician..
When there are no political parties, you're not trying to buy your way into power or worry about the next election, you can just concentrate on doing your best for the whole country.
Has Anonymous tried listening to the average tribalist/separatist and their most fervent promoter, Minister Mahuta? Scary stuff.
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