Politics, what's it all about g'vnor

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(Friggin' IE/pop-up thing lost my first posting!)

Here's an email I've just sent to a Kiwi mate living in London. She's been txt'ing me over the past few hours asking me about the NZ Election and the like. Now, as you're probably aware, I'm not one to put much energy into discussing politics but she's been quite insistent with her view that this extremely important and can have dire consequences on us all.

She may also (not that I've asked) be suffering from that strange malaise people have when they're away from home. One of being minutely interested in what's happening back in their homeland. I recall that I couldn't get enough UK/Welsh news for the first year or so when I moved to NZ - keeping hold of the rope attached to the 'home shore' as the immigration boat drifts further away.

Anywho, here's the email:

Politics is a facet of life that may or may not have direct and tangible affects on my life. No-one can ever know whether having one particular person as a Prime Minister has changed my options, views or circumstance - not even me.

I believe that my options are my options and not others. Yes, some options may be 'withdrawn' or 'expanded' due to a Government's actions but equally they may be 'withdrawn' or 'expanded' due to international economics, consumer advertising, life-style choices, personal circumstances or a million other things that life throws at us.

I don't believe that putting all my 'hopes and dreams' or 'fears and nightmares' into one basket (politicians and their work) is a particularly constructive manner of living. It allows for abdication of responsibility ("it was their fault that I can't get a job"), polarisation of views ("National do is bad. Labour is good"), sweeping generalisations ("The Greens are all flaky") and for blame/name throwing ("That Helen Clark, she's got no clue").

I see life as a flow, much like a river. Politics may or may not be the reason that there may be some boulders in the path of the river but it's almost irrelevant why they are there and who may have had a hand in placing them there. It's my reaction to the boulders that counts and how flexible I am in flowing around, over, under them. In fact, the boulder is just something to be watched as I flow past it.

Of course, I do get a little bit of a say - once every 3 years I get to choose what type of a particular (political) boulders are placed. But that is a moment in time when some people describe certain facets of their manifesto (to be seen as boulders or not, your choice) in the best light. No-one ever truly knows, not even the politicians themselves, the true nature of the boulders they're trying to sell to us as there's so much more to life and the future than we can ever get a hold of.

For instance, who knew that Hurricane Katrina would have the world-wide affect it is currently having. It's permeating social constructs in America, it's touching on long held world-wide beliefs and perceptions of America and is even drawing people together. And when it was first predicted on the Weather Channel it was merely a TV event that we'd hear about on the nightly news and forget equally quickly (if you weren't directly in the path of course) just like all the other "bad weather" events.

So, politics - it is both important (it's a method of boulder placement or removal - one person's boulder is another's stepping stone) and irrelevant. I believe the ability to see it in it's global/over all manner is key and not to get dragged into the mire of someone's day-to-day work (because that's what it is to the politicians - a job). We all have a say in our own lives and it's not left to just one tiny facet of life that hits the media once every 3 or 4 years.


Love to know what you think of that

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