Clive Bibby: All the world’s a stage and men and women merely players

No matter how many times I read Shakespeare’s plays, I marvel at his ability to offer us mere mortals advice that remains timeless in its application to the human condition.

The above opening line taken from “As you like it” is particularly apt in a modern Society riven with conflict and collateral damage from self-serving economic management strategies that have shown little concern for the innocents caught up in situations not of their own making.

Irrespective of who is or has been at fault for our current problems, the fact remains - in order to find a solution to this ongoing societal decline, we must recognise that individual leaders of different factions will sooner or later get their just deserts for the parts they played while in charge of events.

You only have to look back to the last general election in this country in order to see what happens to a leader who hoodwinked the voters into thinking she was a “modern day Mother Teresa” when in reality she was Lady McBeth operating a clandestine strategy that would have given control of the nation’s fresh water reserves to Maori.

Fortunately this unprecedented act of betrayal was discovered just in time with unprecedented consequences at the ballot box. Who would have thought that the first government elected under the MMP system with more than 50 percent of the vote would be thrown out within three years after discovery of who they really were. Thankfully this can only happen in a democracy such as ours - let’s hope it continues to be the case.

However, it would appear the Coalition Government and its leadership have learned nothing from our great escape.

For reasons known only to themselves, they too appear willing to lead us down the same ruinous path by proposing legislation that would have the same effect on the management of our most vital natural resource - handing it over to Local Authorities mainly controlled by (non-elected) appointed groups of Maori advocates.

Herein lies my personal dilemma.

As a lifelong supporter of “Right Wing” governments I am drawn to the only credible option available to me at the ballot box.

This year I am seriously thinking about spitting my vote between Act and NZ First in protest but current polling suggests this would only ensure the return of a mob who have a track record of being even better at these Machiavellian antics.

So, let’s hope that my threat (which l believe is a common feeling amongst fellow National Party supporters) will force a change of heart amongst the current Government legislators with the abandonment of these repulsive ideas. It isn’t too late and if it were to happen, my guess is that the current Government would be returned - if it doesn’t, they are history!

Getting back to Shakespeare.

Surely it would pay us all to refresh our memory of Shakespeare’s masterly understanding of human nature, by reading further into those famous lines he wrote so long ago.

The quoted passage from “As you like it” goes on to say - “They have their exits and entrances.” - inferring that mini demagogs like Ardern and control freaks like Luxon will have their time in the Sun followed by an exit commensurate with their guilt and betrayal.

Time will finally deliver them to their rightful place in history but my guess is that politicians will never learn from their mistakes or the reasons for their ignominious downfall - it is always someone else’s fault.

After all, they like the rest of us, are merely players and we will all be remembered only for the parts we played on the world stage when we had our chance to make a difference.

In the meantime, we all have a choice to make between the devil we know and the pretender masquerading as the saviour of mankind but our future will depend on how wisely we use it. Time is short.

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