When I was but a short-arse who only cared about making forts out of sheets and couch cushions my parents were busy campaigning for the Alliance Party.
I was about 7 when my dad stood as an Alliance candidate in the Wairarapa electorate. I was the old man’s security guard, mascot and director of leafleting. I would accompany him on the campaign trail throughout his regional pilgrimage – he’d even let me have a turn on the megaphone sometimes.
I took exception though when it came to folding flyers – the most monotonous task ever.
My mother was a staunch unionist who fought tooth and nail for the right to work and stood up for the disenfranchised when nobody else would. When she was 23 she spoke at the 1984 Economic Summit in front of basically the most ‘important’ people in New Zealand about how shit unemployment was.
My parents instilled in me a sense of social conscience at a very early age – lift people up, help the underdog, equal opportunities, fair society, gainful employment – these were the values that have seeped into me as I have grown to adulthood.
I carried these values with me to the polling booth yesterday. Two ticks for a fair society.
I’ve always known what direction to cast my vote but for others it’s not so clear-cut. Our parents are probably the biggest political influence we have but what if they are not politically literate? Where then can we find the inspiration to form our political beliefs?
School education is sorely lacking. There is no formal education about civics, voting, democracy bar a wee slice in junior social studies. This should form an integral part of the curriculum – if we are not literate in our political system how are we going to make informed choices? Worse yet, are we even going to bother to vote?
To change direction, voting isn’t simply about selecting a party who has impressed you the most over a few months of gluttonous (and biased) media coverage. To get all fancy, it’s about ideology and political philosophy. We have to ask ourselves: Where on the political spectrum do we align our values?
There are various ways to look at it but the easiest way to spell it out is left and right. The question I ask people is: do you want an Aotearoa where we look after ourselves and each other? Or a New Zealand where we care only for what affects us personally.
I’m going to sound really harsh here but sadly too many Kiwis think selfishly. Don’t get too upset – it is a human trait after all, self-preservation and all that. We can accept that this is a human trait and stick to the status quo or we can choose to believe that there is always a better way, and the only way we will get there is by looking out for each other. No one ever improved anything by thinking about themselves.
Don’t be swayed by the mainstream media, by political spin doctors and flowery words – think with your brain but also your heart.
We’ll get there – together.
“The needs of the many outweigh those of the few, or the one” – Spock.
Educated Ranting 