Ray of hopelessness
It was Ray Chung who pushed me over the edge.
This is not an honour the man deserves. Less stupid politicians have taken me to the brink, but I somehow held it together. Ray’s masterstroke was complaining about the councillors who betrayed him by sharing his email about Tory Whanau’s boobs. Because he’d trusted those councillors to keep his hateful misogynistic unprofessional rumourmongering to themselves.
He’d trusted them. Don’t people have ethics anymore?
I don’t wear rose-tinted glasses. Politicians being dicks isn’t new. One of my earlier political recollections is an astonishingly pissed Muldoon calling a snap election. I was eight, but I’ve got a feeling I remember the night better than he did. On the global stage, I’ve seen Tony Abbot both wearing budgie smugglers and eating a raw onion.
We all have scars.
The problem is that, at least in theory, being a dick used to be bad. Now it’s rewarded. I keep wondering how we got here, and I know the answer’s complex. But I’ve got a couple of reckons.
There’s a spectrum. It starts with accepting that politics is, or should be, entertainment.
At both the national and local levels, attention-getting is rewarded. Sometimes this merely leads to wincing. The social media efforts of most politicians and parties are dreadful, as if someone typed into AI, Please compile a summary of what the ‘youngsters’ these days consider to be ‘happening’, Daddy-O.
But politics-as-entertainment has a way of escalating. Next thing it’s soundbites. After that, it’s sassy soundbites. The sassy soundbites become put-downs. The put-downs erode the standard of conduct we should expect of anyone in a responsible position. Getting kicked out of the House for poor conduct is no longer a source of embarrassment but a guaranteed slot on the news. The censure is worth it - it’s a cost of doing business.
Some might see an upside. If politics isn’t boring, maybe more people - especially young people - will get involved. I’m sympathetic with the aim, but I don’t believe this is the way to achieve it.
To really get things done in politics, you need to get on with other people. The challenges facing our society need smart solutions, long-term commitments and agreement across the board. Take climate change, the state of our infrastructure, or the failure of our economy to reward much more than property ownership. Left or right, national or local, politicians need to work together to crack this stuff - not lapse into whatever kneejerk shit does well on TikTok for 24 hours.
If you’re deliberately offending the people you need to work with to crack this stuff, you’re making a declaration to voters. You’re not willing to do your job. You’re not able to do your job. And you don’t really care.
You know what politics is meant to be? Boring. Yes, we want leaders who inspire others, set an example, win people over with their good ideas. And then they need to read their papers, think and speak carefully, take sound decisions, get a good night’s sleep, and then get up early to do it all again.
I’m not interested in boobs. We’ve elected enough of them already.
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