In early March I submitted this article to another blog and it was not printed. So I have decided to print it under Patriot Realm.com.
It was all about Kiwis. So, here it is, my take of Kiwis. And how, after March 15th, the shy and reclusive Kiwi is standing like a deer in the headlights, wondering what the hell happened, and why they are suddenly in the limelight and not in a very good way. Has their Government thrown them under the bus and exposed their Nation to the rest of the world?
Why? Why did Jacinda Ardern make a global spectacle out of something that was no different to the thousands of atrocious acts committed against people in the past few decades? Why has she highlighted this and made New Zealand a focus of global outrage? Why is she banning innocent New Zealanders from participating on the internet? Why is she embracing islam and putting her Government and country in the forefront of moslem rights? Why?
Why are gun laws being changed? Why is this worse than the atrocity of 911? Worse than the slaughter of Christians in Churches?
Why expose New Zealand to losing millions of dollars in tourism revenue?
Why?
Well, here it is, the original article.
The Kiwi is a flightless bird, shy, reclusive and not one to enjoy the spotlight. Even it's feathers keep it carefully camouflaged and hidden. It is not an arrogant bird; it does not seek fame and attention. In fact, it is happy to work away and keep below the radar. Not too dissimilar in many respects to the non feathered Kiwi.
But some of those quiet achievers took flight and soared. From a little country at the bottom of the world, some of the finest achievers have made contributions that many can only dream of.
Sir Ernest Rutherford - the man who famously “split the atom”
Sir Edmund Hillary, the man who conquered Everest with Sherpa Tensing Norgay in 1953.
Runner Peter Snell; racing car driver Bruce McLaren; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; Nancy Wake; all New Zealanders who ventured out of the undergrowth and boldly stood in the vast open spaces of the broader world and dared to “give it a go.”
There are others like Sir Peter Jackson who made his name in the film industry; June Opie who told of her fight with polio in her autobiography “Over My Dead Body “; Jane Campion, Katherine Mansfield, Kate Sheppard; truly the list goes on and on.
This post would be too long if I mentioned all those Kiwis who flew, but it is remarkable that such a small country can boast so many trail blazers.
When I started pondering all the stand out names that came to mind I realised something astonishing.
The vast majority of my big names, people I truly admired, were almost all givers, not takers. So many were humble people. Shy people. Quiet people. From humble and shy beginnings. So very, very few became rich and most gave back far more than they received. In short, they were not motivated by money.
Their motivation was almost without exception a desire to achieve the unachievable, to push themselves to the brink and, when they did well they pushed to do better.
I have struggled to come up with a Politician whose name could be placed on my honour roll.
I have long admired Sir Julius Vogel who boldly formulated the plan to use public works programmes to develop infrastructure in the emerging New Zealand Nation. He introduced the bill to give the women of New Zealand the vote and, under his stewardship, it could be said that he oversaw the change from Colony to Country. He was the first of two Jewish Prime Ministers in New Zealand – the second being John Key.
As a kid I loved Sir Keith Holyoake, but that is probably because I once shook his hand!
John Key came from humble beginnings and rose to be a self made millionaire and never took a salary for his work as Prime Minister of New Zealand. On one of my many visits back home, some years ago, I remarked to my travelling companion “No one here talks about Politics. “ I asked someone in a supermarket in Wanaka why that was and was told “John Key worries about that. We don’t have to. “
Several years on, people are talking about Politics. A lot. People are angry. Very angry.
I wonder if it is because the Politicians are not working for the People that they were elected to represent but working for their own missions and ambitions in life?
If Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters wish to seek personal fame, fortune and notoriety, perhaps they have chosen the wrong profession? Maybe they need to go out and get a real job, climb a mountain or make a movie.
For myself, I want to see someone at the helm of a Nation who has already climbed the mountain, run the race, made the movie and proven that they are already high achievers. Not someone who thinks that Leadership is about getting the drivers seat on a gravy train with people like us stoking the furnaces to keep the train running, the meal car open and the booze cart in constant motion.
It maybe time for the Kiwis to get their heads out of the forest floor, look to the sun and take flight. Because if the average voter does not even try and fly, then New Zealand is destined to fall and fail like the rest of the west: it is time to fly.
Well, make of this what you will. But Kiwis, please have a think about getting your flight feathers back... but use them well.
Because if you do not, the name Icarus springs to mind.
Icarus: GreekMythology.com - Mar 18, 2019
