1. This
is not your standard Wheelers Corner blog, offering an opinion on this or that
bit of political news doing the rounds. I along with no doubt thousands in NZ
have been watching the US election for President.
Donald Trump won, because he
won the largest number of Electoral College votes to put him over the 270 out
of 538 needed to secure a win.
But we need to remember that a million more voters voted
against him than for him, still that sobering fact won’t change the reality of
a Trump victory.
If I was a Black or Mexican living in America I would fear for
my safety and the safety of my family. White bigots and openly racist gun
loving idiots like the KKK will control the US. The US may become an even
unhealthier place to reside than it already is.
It’s going to interesting to
see how quickly he builds the wall between Mexico and the US and if he can stop
touching ‘pussies’.
The remaining words of this blog are from ‘ActionStation’
and they relate directly to us here in New Zealand. Our Prime Minister has
already stated, that the election of Trump will make little difference to us,
why, because we are very good friends of the US.
He is wrong! And here is why:
2. “Dear Peter,
This email is a bit
different to the ones we usually send you. There’s no action for you to take,
for one thing. It’s also longer than usual, because this is a moment to be
thoughtful, not reactive, a time to dig beneath the simplifications that can
too easily polarise us. So make a cup of tea, and another for someone nearby,
and read on.
I’m writing today
because Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.
Some of us may think
Trump’s victory will send a much needed message to the political establishment
that everyday people are fed up with politics, and an economy, that seems
designed only to serve the elite.
Many of us, though,
feel only sadness, fear and uncertainty about a future in which a man who has
campaigned on messages of fear, hatred and exclusion will be President of one
of the most powerful countries in the world.
In an increasingly
politically, economically and socially polarised world, I feel a deep sense of
privilege and responsibility to be writing to this ActionStation community - a broad and diverse group of fair-minded
Kiwis who want to get things done, who act together to protect the best of what
makes New Zealand wonderful, and to shape an even brighter future for all of
us.
It’s our shared
values, plus a willingness to act, that makes someone an ‘ActionStation kind of
person’. Not your age, income, postcode, party politics or ethnic background.
There are so few
places left in our world where people come together to agree and act on the
values we share, rather than letting ourselves be pulled apart by the labels
applied to us.
So today I’m
writing to ask that we double down on our commitment to be that kind of
community. A place where we won’t
- and don’t - always agree all the time, but where we share core values of
fairness and a commitment to the common good.
That matters more than
ever because: Trump is just the highest profile crest in a global wave. He and
others like him across the world are shining a light on a deep unhappiness
people feel about the way things are and they way they are headed.
Around the globe,
mainstream parties on the left and the right have tied themselves up with a
global corporate elite while life gets harder for everyone else. The strain on
the working and middle class is unbearable and is tearing society in half as
people look for someone to blame.
Trump, UKIP, the
National Front and others are offering a way out by returning to a racist past
when we were more isolated, homogeneous and violent.
It won't put bread on
the table but at least you can take solace in the fact that your skin colour
and religion is the right one, and if you’re a man your gender is the right
one, and you won’t have to watch anyone different fight for the same crumbs.
On the other hand, all
over the world the parties of the the left, who were supposed to serve everyday
people, are bending to serve a cosmopolitan elite. It's not explicitly racist
or sexist as long as every one of every race and gender puts aside their rights
in order to generate profit for the giant corporates and sign on the dotted
line of the TPPA to ensure it.
So we, ordinary
people dedicated to the common good, too often end up as political orphans. We believe in defending the rights of our
workers, friends and neighbours over the profit of global corporations, and we
believe in strengthening the power of democracy to protect those interests.
But we also believe
that all humans deserve this protection equally. We believe in shedding the
dark racism and patriarchy of the past and creating an inclusive, peaceful,
fair society in which we neither discriminate nor exploit, but rather include
and uplift.
If we feel the
political establishment has abandoned us, we must hold our own ground. We must
cling to these values and champion them in every forum, every election, every
public debate and at every dining room table in New Zealand. As we head into
our own election, in 2017, doing this together matters more than ever.
Here in New
Zealand, we haven’t gone as far down this path of polarisation, and of
political despair, as in other countries, and we have the opportunity to avoid
going any further.
Because of our small
size as a country, we remain more connected to each other as people, despite
political differences. This has made us less susceptible to the deep
polarisation that is tearing the US apart. But we can’t take this for
granted, we need to choose to stay connected - to our shared values and to each
other.
We cannot wait for
political heroes to save us, nor succumb to despair in the face of political
villains. Now, more than ever before, we are the ones we've been waiting for.
That’s why ‘people
power’ isn’t just a nice slogan at ActionStation: it is ActionStation. It’s why
we’re here and how we get things done.
In the next few weeks,
you’ll be hearing from us asking for your input into plans for ActionStation
for 2017. What I hope more than anything else this morning is that you’ll open
those emails when you get them, click those links and have your say on what we
do together next year.
Because if we are
to make the most of this incredible, diverse ActionStation community in order
to preserve the best of what we have in New Zealand, it’s time to get busy!
Thank you,
Marianne
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